o 
WIIOOPER. 
furtlier observations, Ave turned liomeAA^ards down the glen. Before quitting the water-side the birds commenced 
to shoAV signs of restlessness, and rising on Aving made off toAA^ards another small loch, from which, hoAvever, 
they shortly returned, flying Ioav in the face of the Avind. On making inquiries I learned that the Swans 
deserted the loch this year at a much earlier date than usual; a severe frost having set in, it is probable that the 
surface AA'ould haAm been frozen over to such an extent as to interfere AAutli their supply of food. 
Though numberless chances of obtaining shots at these birds were lost through endeavours to gain an 
insight into their general habits and manner of feeding, I am able to add little or nothing to the knowledge 
already possessed concerning the species. TTeeds dragged up from the bottom of freshwater lochs in the 
north, or the larger broads and pools in the south, appear to form a considerable portion of their diet; I 
also AAmtched them on many occasions grazing on the grass-marshes and round the edges of the dykes in flat 
districts. In shalloAv bays and in the channels running betAveen the sand-banks off those parts of the coas t 
Avhere the shore is flat and the tide ebbs to a considerable distance, I have repeatedly seen Swans apparently 
employed searching for food, marine AA^eeds and grasses or small fish and Crustacea being the only 
nutritious substances procurable. An old coast-gunner in the neighbourhood of Bye in Sussex assured 
me that he discovered a quantity of shrimps and other small fishes in a bird killed in the harbour; I did 
not, boAvever, place much faith in the stories told by this character, many of his yarns concerning the birds 
he had seen or shot approaching the marvellous. 
The thick coating of feathers on the body of a SAA'an and the size and strength of the Aving-bone 
render these parts almost impenetrable to the charge from a 10- or a 12-bore shoulder-gun at the distance 
of five and thirty or forty yards. By bearing in mind, hoAvever, Avhen a chance occurs, that the neck near 
the back of the head is the most vital spot, successful shots may occasionally be made at these distances. 
The use of heavy singles, especially 4-bores with excessively heavy charges, has lately been advocated by 
certain Avriters on sporting subjects ; my OAAm experience, hoAA^ever, is decidedly against these unwieldly 
Aveapons, and the folio Aving extracts from my notes aauU show that even Swans may be brouglit to bag by 
ordinary shoulder-guns. In the Avinters of 1858 and 1859 several of these birds Avere obtained in Pevensey 
IMarsh and a fcAV near Bye and IVinchelsea ; the vAdiole, with but tAVO exceptions, AA^ere killed Avuth a 10-bore 
muzzle-loader, no larger shot than No. 3 being used. On the 19th of December 1858, wdiile hidden behind a 
pile of old Avreckage on the beach Avatching the endless SAAmrms of foAvl passing toAvards the AA^est, a single 
bird flying along the coast Avms dropped perfectly dead by a charge of No. C shot at the distance of about 
thirty yards, the shot entering the upper part of the neck. On the folio Aving morning, Avhile returning from 
flight-shooting at one of the slades, a party of fiA^e old birds I had previously observed to fly in from 
the Channel again came in vieAV, noAV making their Avay out across the level towards the coast. Drawing 
at once behind the shelter of the rough-heAvn posts of an old marsh-gate, the approach of the SAvans Avas 
anxiously aAvaited; though in the first instance holding a course that Avould have led them some distance 
to the east, they gradually edged round and passed Avithin tAV'enty yards of my place of concealment. The 
leading bird, AAdiich happened to be the largest, doubled up at once on receiving the charge of the first barrel 
(1-^ oz. No. 3) in the body beloAV the Aving ; the rest shearing off in confusion, the second was struck slightly 
too far aft, and shimmed on outspread pinions at least a couple of hundred yards before falling, when its 
Avings Avere flapped for some minutes. Though no examination w’as made, it is probable that this bird Aras 
shot through the heart, its actions being almost precisely similar to those of one killed Avith a punt-gun a few 
Avdnters back. 
The distance that AAuldfoAvl Avill occasionally fly Avhen fatally Avounded is certainly astonishing ; my notes 
for 1881 contain a reference to a bird that might reasonably have been expected to succumb at once to the 
injuries inflicted. On the 22nd of October a pair of old SAvans accompanied by three young settled on a marsh 
adjoining one of the lai'ger broads in the east of Norfolk ; OAving to a strong easterly gale it aams no easy 
