THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
In the mute swan the trachea is shorter than in the species already 
mentioned, and does not enter a cavity in the keel of the sternum, but 
on reaching the intra-furcular space forms a slight curve outwards before 
entering the thorax. It has a loud and trumpet -like note, uttered chiefly 
in the breeding-season, and makes a hissing sound when approached 
too closely; but at other times it is a very silent bird. The food consists 
chiefly of water-plants, aquatic insects and grain, etc. Unlike the whooper 
and Bewick’s swans, the present species does not carry its head erect 
when swimming, the neck being held in a graceful curve. The weight is 
about 24 lbs. 
The so-called Polish swan (Cygnus immutabilis^ Yarrell) is now generally 
admitted by ornithologists to be a mere variety as regards the colour 
of the young, which are said to be white. White cygnets are not in- 
frequently seen amongst broods of darker birds, and none of the 
characters attributed to the Polish swan are constant. 
GEESE 
T he geese to be met with in Western Europe and the British 
Isles belong to three well-defined groups or genera — ^the grey 
geese, snow-geese and Brent geese. In all the hind toe is very 
narrowly lobed (see fig. 1, p. 290), and the bill is rather short and 
thick, the depth at the base being more than half the total length 
measured from the feathering on the forehead to the tip (see 
fig. 5, p. 290), while in the surface -feeding ducks with the hind toe narrowly 
lobed, the depth at the base of the bill is less than half the total length. The 
legs are longer than in the ducks, and are placed further forward, conse- 
quently geese are able to walk and run with much greater ease and grace. 
The sexes are alike in plumage, the male (gander) being usually larger and 
heavier than the female (goose). In all the species under consideration the 
upper tail-coverts are white. They have only one moult in the year, in autumn. 
1. — The grey geese may always be recognized by their greyish -brown 
plumage and by their entirely orange, or partly orange or pink, bill, and 
by their light -coloured orange or pink legs. The bill is furnished with 
strong serrations or “teeth,” those in the upper mandible being conspicuous 
when the bill is closed and viewed from the side, and more adapted for 
cropping grass, etc., than for sifting water and mud. They feed mostly 
306 
