252 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



the water by every claim which can constitute an empire of peace, 



grandeur, majesty, and kindness He lives more in the 



character of a friend than a monarch amid the numerous tribes of 

 aquatic birds, all of which seem willingly to place themselves under 

 his rule." 



The great naturalist allowed himself to be led away by his en- 

 thusiasm, and perhaps by his classic recollections ; for the swan, al- 

 though elegant and majestic in form and graceful in its movements 

 on the water, is clumsy and awkward when on land; it is, besides, 

 spiteful and quarrelsome. It attacks every animal, and even man. 

 The swans in the gardens of the Luxembourg at Paris had taken an 

 aversion to all the keepers, and whenever they saw one, they all 

 came out of the water in order to attack him. 



The principal strength of the swan does not lie in its beak, but 

 in its wings — a most effective offensive weapon, and which it takes 

 every opportunity to use. In spite of its bad qualities, however, the 

 swan is the most ornamental of all our aquatic birds. 



Its song, or rather its cry, is indeed far from being harmonious. 

 It is a dull and harsh sibilation, not at all agreeable to listen to. 

 Some of the poets, however, have not believed the fable which at- 

 tributes to these birds a sonorous and melodious voice. Virgil 

 perfectly well knew how hoarse the note of the swan really was — 



" Dant sonitum rauci per stagna loquacia cygni." 



Lucretius says — 



" Parvus cygni canor." 



The Whistling Swan (Cygnus ferus, Fig. 93). 



This is, in all probability, the Swan so celebrated among the 

 ancients. It is found in the northern regions of Europe and Asia ; 

 residing- in summer within the Arctic circle, and migrating south- 

 wards and visiting Holland, France, and the British Islands in 

 winter, although occasionally breeding in the north of Scotland. 

 Southward, it extends to Barbary and Egypt ; eastward, it wanders 

 as far as Japan. The note of the Wild Swan is a sort of whoop, 

 uttered several times in succession — a hoarse, hard, and rather dis- 

 cordant cry — and this has given it the name we have adopted ; for it 

 is difficult to imagine the grounds on which the Prince of Canino 

 gave it the name Cygnus musicus. 



The peculiar organic distinction of the Swan is the great length 

 of the neck, consisting of twenty- three vertebrae, and the cavity in 



