260 The Water-fowl Family 



seen in parks and zoological gardens, and is not 

 a native of North America. It is an exceedingly 

 beautiful bird as it floats on the water, carrying its 

 long neck in a graceful curve. The age to which 

 swans live is very great. The mute swan has 

 been known to reach seventy years, and one died 

 near Amsterdam, in 1675, which bore a metal 

 collar with the date "1573," indicating a life of 

 one hundred and two years. 



While all swans of the northern hemisphere 

 are white, so that " white as a swan " became 

 proverbial, in Australia — the land of all things 

 strange — was found a black swan. This is a 

 very beautiful species, entirely black, with a red 

 bill crossed by a white bar. The neck is long, 

 slender, and very graceful, and the inner feathers 

 of the wings are curled and raised. It has 

 been successfully domesticated in the northern 

 hemisphere. 



Another peculiar swan is found in southern 

 South America, sometimes occurring in large 

 flocks. This bird is pure white except for the 

 head and neck, which are deep seal-brown. The 

 bill is plumbeous with a rose-colored knob at 

 the base. " Boleadores," — three balls on the 

 ends of connecting ropes, — such as are used to 

 catch horses and cattle, were formerly employed 

 by the inhabitants to catch these swans, although 

 for this purpose the balls were made of wood. The 



