THE SWIMMERS. 1 39 



for its own safety, it mistrusts the slightest approach of a stranger, and in this respect is more afraid 

 of a foreigner than of the negroes, with whose appearance it is most familiar. Its temper and dis- 

 position are by no means in accordance with the beauty of its appearance ; indeed, it must be classed 

 with the most domineering and vicious of its race, for although living in society it can hardly be said 

 ever to be at peace with its' companions. During the pairing season the battles between the males 

 are literally to the death (at least so we have found it in some that we kept in confinement) ; they 

 follow one another with loud cries and unappeasable fury, bite savagely, and beat each other with 

 their wings until one or both fall exhausted to the ground. The Ganders seem to delight in tyrannising 

 over all the other inmates of the pond, and not content with persecuting Ducks and Geese considerably 

 larger than themselves, such is their boldness and audacity that they will sometimes attack even man 

 himself. Should one of them encounter another male of his own species, either alone or accompanied 

 by a female, it will fall upon him as though it were a bird of prey, and should it be unable to kill him 

 by blows inflicted with the beak and wings, will try to drown him. No sooner is the vanquished bird 

 so exhausted as to be unable to resist, than, mounting upon its body, the victor seizes it by the neck 

 and holds its head under water until life is quite extinct. With such dangerous propensities it is 

 not to be wondered at that this species, notwithstanding the vivacity of its manners and the beauty 

 of its appearance, is scarcely admissible among other birds. 



The food of the Nile Goose is of a very promiscuous character ; like our own Wild Geese it 

 may be seen grazing in the fields upon all sorts of vegetables ; after the manner of Ducks it obtains 

 nutriment from the mud of shallow pools, and will even dive to the bottom of rivers in search of 

 what is there procurable. At certain seasons the young birds are passionately fond of locusts, and 

 neither old nor young have the slightest objection to animal food; they do not, however, appear to 

 eat fishes. It may occasionally happen in places where no trees are to be met with that these birds 

 construct their nests upon the ground, but wherever there are woods coming to the water's edge, or 

 even single trees of suitable dimensions, their nests must be looked for among the branches. In 

 Africa they generally select for this purpose the thorny mimosa, known among the Arabs as the 

 Hai-ahsi. Their nest is very generally constructed of branches derived from the tree itself, inter- 

 mixed with smaller twigs, and warmly lined with grasses. 



The number of eggs, according to our own experience, varies from four to six ; our black hunters 

 nevertheless asserted that they had taken ten or twelve from a single nest. The eggs are of very 

 round shape, thick-shelled, smooth, and of a yellowish or greyish white colour. The breeding-time 

 of these birds varies according to the season. In Egypt breeding commences about the beginning 

 of September. From individuals kept in confinement we have ascertained that the period of 

 incubation extends over twenty-seven or twenty-eight days, and that only the female sits upon the 

 eggs. During this period the Gander keeps careful watch, sitting constantly close to his mate and 

 giving timely warning of the approach of any intruder. Once a day, and that always in the afternoon, 

 the breeding female leaves her nest, having previously covered her eggs warmly with down. The 

 young are able to run about immediately after leaving the egg, and on the slightest alarm hurry at 

 once into the water, where they immediately dive ; their education very much resembles that of the 

 goslings of the Grey Goose. 



In Egypt the Nile Goose is much sought after both by Turks and Europeans. Its flesh differs 

 little as an article of food from that of the Wild Geese ; that of the young birds is excellent, but the 

 old are hard and tough, nevertheless they make capital soup. 



The DWARF GEESE (Ncttapus) form a distinct group, whose members occupy South Asia, 

 Africa, and Australia. These birds are characterised by their small beak, which is high at the base, 



