BIRDS 261 



Bewick's Swans upon the Solway, one being adult. The other 

 two were Cygnets, and were in the act of swimming up to their 

 companion for protection from a Great Black-backed Gull, when 

 the punt gunner killed all three at a shot. The Cygnets were 

 afterwards staked at cards, and changed hands in consequence. 

 I traced the gamesters in time to find one of the Cygnets 

 plucked and headless. The old bird proved to be a male, and 

 in finer condition than any other example of this Swan which I 

 have had the pleasure of examining. Some parts of the body, 

 especially the intestines, were thickly invested with fat, and the 

 bird weighed 16 lbs., in our experience a heavy weight for this 

 Swan. The weather was open, and the birds had probably been 

 in the vicinity for a few weeks. The Cygnet which I dissected 

 was in fair condition, but internal fat was entirely absent. 

 Its stomach contained some fine grit, together with three blades 

 of grass and a small piece of green seaweed. The gizzard of 

 the adult contained a little grass, together with a quantity of 

 estuary sand. The plumage of these fine birds proved to be 

 infested with many white parasites which showed considerable 

 activity, and clung tenaciously to the feathers. In January 1889 

 I discovered that a pair of these beautiful birds had availed 

 themselves of the protection afforded to wild-fowl on Monkhill 

 Lough by taking up their quarters on that sheet of water. 



A pair of Mute Swans, pinioned birds, belonging to the 

 Corporation of Carlisle, had been placed upon the lough some 

 time previously, and we were thus able to compare the two 

 species. Not that the tame Swans relished the presence of the 

 strangers ; on the contrary, they desired to drive them off the 

 water, but their efforts in this direction were thwarted by the 

 pertinacity with w^hich the rare birds haunted their safe retreat. 

 When comparing the two species side by side, we came to the 

 conclusion that Bewick's Swan carries its neck more erect than 

 the Mute Swan. The strangers were of course much inferior in 

 size to the domesticated birds. Though pure white, excepting 

 some rusty colour about the head, they were not of such a 

 snowy whiteness as the Mute Swan : they generally carried the 

 neck perpendicular to the water when swimming, the lower neck 

 indeed partly submerged ; they arched their necks occasionally, 



