ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1317 



MUTE SWANS 

 At Belmar the swans are very tame, but the pair in the Park as yet are quite shy. 



MUTE SWANS. 



A FINE pair of swans recently has been 

 presented to the Zoological Society by the 

 Borough of Belmar, New Jersey, through 

 the kindness of Mayor Robert G. Poole and Mr. 

 Wm. B. Bamford. These birds represent an 

 interesting phase, the status of which is not 

 perfectly understood. The common Mute Swan 

 (Olor olor), the royal bird of England, is en- 

 tirely white in plumage, with orange and black 

 beak and black legs. The down of the cygnet 

 of this bird is sooty gray, and the first true 

 feathers acquired are of a similar hue. 



The present birds, however, have feet of a 

 grayish cast, and evidently are referable to the 

 form known as the Polish swan. This phase 

 was described by Yarrell, in 1838, as a distinct 

 species, and given the name of Cygnus (Olor) 

 immutablis. 



The adult bird seems to differ from the typi- 

 cal mute swan in no character except the color 

 of the feet. But it is a curious fact that the 

 young of the Polish swan is dirty when in the 

 down, and sheds at once into snowy plumage. 



Most modern ornithologists consider the Pol- 

 ish swan as simply a variety of the common 

 form, perhaps modified by long breeding in 

 captivity. It seems to be of Continental origin, 

 the domesticated birds of England being of the 

 black-footed type. 



Belmar's success with swans has been quite 

 remarkable. Fourteen birds were secured as a 



gift, about 1910, and were placed on a large 

 lake in the center of the town. Only nine be- 

 came acclimatized, but the following }''ear one 

 pair nested and reared a brood of young. Other 

 pairs followed, and the collection has grown to 

 number more than fifty. In 1915, twenty-five 

 young birds were reared, certainly the largest 

 flock of cygnets ever brought to maturity in this 

 country. 



Just how many gray-footed birds were in the 

 original lot is not known, but the present flock 

 seems about equally divided between the two 

 forms. They breed together indiscriminately, 

 but the characters seem to retain their purity. 

 The Polish swan certainly is not common among 

 imported birds. The writer has never before 

 seen it in this country, although it is fairly 

 common in European institutions. 



Belmar's lead has been followed by other 

 towns in the vicinity, and at Bay Head, this 

 3^ear, a pair of swans reared four cygnets along 

 the beach. These birds enjoy full liberty, and 

 are a common sight on the wing about the bay. 

 This acclimatization of swans is noteworthy, and 

 its progress will be followed with interest. 



L. S. C. 



NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING. 



The Annual Meeting of the New York Zoo- 

 logical Society will be held at the Waldorf- 

 Astoria on Tuesday, January 11, 1916, at 8:30 

 o'clock P. M. 



