very attentive to the female, assists in making the nest, and, 

 when a sudden rise of the tide takes place, joins her with great 

 assiduity in raising the nest sufficiently high to prevent the 

 eggs being chilled by the action of the water, though sometimes 

 its rise is so rapid that the whole nest is washed away and 

 destroyed." 



Of its attachment to its young there can be little doubt. 

 I have often, while boating on the Thames; amused myself 

 with attempting to get at its nest. The female and male have 

 always combined to resist the seeming attempt at depredation, 

 Bailing round and round the boat, and snapping most angrily 

 at the sculls, seeming to know that they were the priaciple 

 objects of dread.. 



The mute swan builds its nest of rushes, reeds, and various 

 plants ; and lays about six or seven eggs. The amount of food 

 that should be given to this bird varies, of course, iu propor- 

 tion to its own opportunities of foragiug for itself. Says a 

 good authority : — " When in a great measure dependent on 

 given food, each will eat the eighth part of a peck of barley 

 daily ; this may be now and then varied with oats." A writer 

 in the Poultry Chronicle, above referred to, states that they 

 relish the sweepings of the pigeon loft, in which the peas and 

 beans, if thrown into the water at the edge, soon become clean. 

 He also states that they like a little grass when the lawns 

 are fiiown, and once a year a wheelbarrowful of watercress. 

 When the cygnets first take to the water, they may be fed 

 with oatmeal scattered on the surface. 



The other varieties of swans are by no means so common. 

 The whooper or whistling swan is a native of northern countries, 

 and in Iceland is a great favourite ; as the cry of the cuckoo 

 is in this country an indication of the approach of spring, so, 

 in those cold and cheerleds regions, the cry of the swan ia 

 hailed as the harbinger of more genial weather. Bewick's 

 swan is still more uncommon, and also a native of northern 

 latitudes. The Polish swan bears some resemblance to our 

 common tame swan, only that the cygnets are white instead 

 of grey. The black swan is peculiar to Australia and New 

 Holland, and is a veiy hardy bird, which wiU breed and thrive 

 well in this country. Some good specimens may be seen in 

 the Regent's Park grounds. 



The Chilian swan is a native of South America ; its plu- 

 mage is white, with black, head and neck ; and is rather a 

 pretty species. 



