N. Wharton-Tigar—London Zoo Notes



117



examined each species. I made notes with my numbed fingers, which

I am now scarcely able to decipher ! However, Mr. Jones is very

thorough, and wrote me out a list of the whole collection of the three

kinds I had decided to write about, namely, Swans, Geese, and Ducks.

Besides which, he lent me his copy of Mr. J. C. Laidley’s book, The

Care and Propagation of Ornamental Waterfowl , and, as I see it has a

preface by Mr. Seth-Smith, I feel every confidence in quoting from it.


To begin with the Swans—the handsome Black Swan ( Chenopsis

atrata ) from Australia, with its red bill and the inner feathers of the

wings curled and raised. The Black-necked Cygnus melanocoryphus,

a native of South America, has a neck which is blackish-brown, the

bill is bluish-grey, and a large red wattle, the body is white. Both

these species are not too good-tempered, and will occasionally kill

young Duck. The Zoo have also one Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus ),

and one Bewick [Cygnus hewicki), the former breed mainly in the

Arctic Circle and sparingly in Scotland, and the latter in Arctic Eastern

Europe. I should have taken the two for a pair, but the difference in

the bill was pointed out to me, and Mr. Seth-Smith told me how the

Zoo came to acquire the Bewick. He was watching some Swans on

a lake in Surrey, when he noticed among them a young Bewick, still

in immature plumage. This was interesting, as they are seldom

found as far south, and he asked the keeper to try and catch it. This

was done, and Mr. Seth-Smith brought it to the Gardens.


I think the three species of Geese are all interesting. First, the

Red-breasted, recently acquired from Moscow, is an exceedingly

beautifully coloured bird, black, white, and rich chestnut—a true

Goose, bill very short, and cobby in shape. Mr. Peter Scott, well

known as an artist, has gone to the northern shores of the Caspian

Sea, where the species winters, to bring home, if possible, live specimens

of this lovely Goose. The Red-breasted has seldom nested in captivity,

though some wild caught birds did so fifteen years after their

arrival at Woburn Abbey. It has been found in ancient Egyptian

paintings. The Semi-palmated Goose (Anseranas semipalmata ) is a

handsome bird, if a little ungainly. It is a native of Australia, and has

orange legs and feet, a Duck-like bill ; the body is black and white.

The bird perches a good deal, and does not look very much like a Goose.



