THE MUTE SWAN. 

 Cygnus olor (J. F. Gmelin). 

 Plate 45. 



It is not known with any certainty when the Mute or Tame Swan was first 

 brought to England, but the date of its introduction is said to go as far back as 

 the twelfth century, its first coming, like that of our common Pheasant, being 

 wrapped in mystery. This species is the common Swan of our lakes and rivers, 

 where large numbers live in a semi-domesticated condition ; these are increased 

 at times by the arrival of more or less wild birds from the Continent of Europe. 

 There it breeds in many places in a perfectly wild condition, notably in Denmark, 

 southern Sweden, Germany, Austria, and elsewhere. 



The nest is a large piled-up structure of dead reeds and other vegetation, and 

 contains from five to eight eggs of a greenish-grey colour. When the female is 

 sitting I have noticed that the male is never far away, and on the nest being 

 approached by anyone, he will boldly swim up and remain on guard near the spot 

 until the intruder withdraws. 



The Mute Swan is not always silent, as in the breeding season, according to 

 Naumann, the bird utters a loud and trumpet-like note. In tame Swans the call 

 notes are softer. It is easily distinguished from the two other species by the large 

 black tubercle at the base of the upper mandible, the greater portion of the latter 

 being of a deep orange colour. 



What Yarrell described as a new species {Proc. Zool. Soc, 1838, p. 19), which 

 he named Cygnus immutabilis, commonly known by its English name of Polish 

 Swan — though it seems to have had no connection whatever with the country its 

 name suggests — is now considered to be only a variety of the Mute Swan. 



It was supposed to differ from the latter bird in having, when adult, a smaller 

 tubercle and slaty-grey legs and feet, the colour of the young being white instead 

 of the usual brownish-grey of the other's cygnets. 



Curiously enough, with one exception — a bird from the Lake of Haarlem in 

 Holland — all the so-called " Polish " Swans have occurred in the British Islands. 



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