THE DUKE OF BEDFORD'S MENAGERIE. 307 



It is a beautiful sight to see the assemblage of these birds on 

 the Swan-lake, the species ranging in size from the lordly 

 Trumpeter (Cygnus buccinator) of North America to the diminu- 

 tive Coscoroba Swan (G. coscoroba) of Patagonia; both these 

 comparatively rare species being represented by a large number 

 of specimens. Black Swans (C. atratus) are of course well to 

 the fore, as is also the still handsomer Black-necked South 

 American species (G. nigricollis) . The various species of Ducks 

 are far too numerous to mention, but a Snake-bird or Darter 

 (Plotus) cannot be passed over without notice. To see this 

 strange bird perched on a tree-stump, and craning and twisting 

 in a manner which only a Darter can, is a spectacle seldom to be 

 witnessed, save by travellers in far distant lands. Of the Game 

 Birds the name is legion, ranging from the lovely Peacock to 

 the diminutive Californian Quail. Wandering through the well- 

 kept coverts, one may be startled by the flashing metallic tints of 

 a cock Monal (Lophophorus impeyanus) as it dashes by in head- 

 long flight; while the next moment a Tragopan (Ceriornis) struts 

 by in all the glory of its scarlet plumage and blue neck-frill. 

 Pheasants of all kinds, from the gorgeous Soemmering's (Phasi- 

 anus soemmerringi) and Reeves's Pheasant (P. reevesi) to the 

 ordinary English species, are to be met with at every turn ; while 

 not only are there true-bred species, but likewise a host of 

 hybrids, some of which are even more beautiful than their 

 parents. Considering that the coverts are regularly shot, one 

 wonders how all these lovely birds escape destruction ; till one is 

 told that those in which the exotic forms are chiefly kept are shot 

 over only by the Duke and Duchess, who fire only at Phasianus 

 colchicus. In the more open grounds are to be seen scores of 

 Chukor (Gaccabis), whose noisy chatter recalls days of Hima- 

 layan shikar. 



In short, what with mammals and birds combined, a perfect 

 paradise is opened to the observant naturalist atWoburn; and 

 days and weeks might well be spent before half the informa- 

 tion this splendid collection is capable of affording would be 

 exhausted. That the ordinary public are not debarred from 

 participating to a certain extent in the delights afforded to its 

 owner by the collection is clear from the fact that on the 

 August Bank Holiday the entire park and grounds are thrown 

 open to all who care to come. Since, moreover, the park is 



