﻿MUTE SWAN. 



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It is hardly requisite to state that the localities frequented 

 by the Mute Swan are in the vicinity of water, either sea, 

 river, or lake. During hard frost it necessarily comes to 

 land, frequenting the meadows that border the water, or 

 springy places that remain unaffected by the frost. 



The food of this bird consists of aquatic vegetable matter, 

 roots, leaves, and grain, insects and their larvae. The spawn 

 of fish it consumes to such an extent, that where many of 

 these beautiful creatures are kept as ornaments, the proprie- 

 tors pay dearly for their maintenance, owing to the myriads 

 of spawn that are consumed by them. We are quite sure 

 that the fishery of the Thames suffers more from the depre- 

 dations of these birds, than from all that the poachers can 

 do by their nightly labours. 



The nest of the Swan, which is constructed on the ground 

 by the water-side, or on some boggy projection or mound in 

 the river or lake, is made of flags and rushes piled carefully 

 one upon another. The height of this structure depends 

 upon the taste or foresight of the birds, for both male and 

 female work at it ; and after the hen-bird has begun to sit, 

 if there is a probability of the water rising higher than usual, 

 the nest is raised in a very interesting manner, which we have 

 witnessed several times ; the male carries fresh supplies of 

 flags, and the female draws them into the nest, and works 

 them under the eggs, thus raising herself and her eggs by 

 degrees. 



The eggs produced vary in number, according to the age 

 of the parent ; young birds do not exceed five or six, whereas 

 the old ones usually lay seven or eight. The time of incu- 

 bation lasts from five to six weeks, after which the young- 

 brood come forth, and remain the first day in the nest, 

 where the mother thoroughly dries them ; the day after they 



follow the parents, who instruct them in swimming and feed- 



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