Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 15, NIC-PAR

50© 0 R N I T H
Anscres. are bretl there, remain throughout the first year ; and
~v'." in August, when they lose their feathers, and are unable
to fly, the natives kill them with clubs, shoot, and hunt
them down with dogs, by which they are easily caught.
. The flesh is highly esteemed, as are the eggs, which are
gathered in the spring. The Icelanders, Kamtschatka-
dales, and other inhabitants of the northern world, dress
their skins with the down on them, sew them together,
and convert them into various sorts of garments. The
, northern American Indians have recourse to the same
expedient for clothing themselves, and sometimes weave
the down as barbers do the cawls for wigs, and then
manufacture it into ornamental dresses for the women of
rank, while the larger feathers are formed into caps and
plumes, to decorate the heads of their chieftains and war¬
riors. They likewise gather the feathers and down in large
quantities, and barter or sell them to the inhabitants of
more civilized nations. Notwithstanding the fabulous
accounts and poetical descriptions ol the song ol the
dying swan, its voice is shrill, harsh, and piercing, not
unlike the sound of a clarionet, when blown by a novice
in music. It is asserted, however, by those who have
heard the united and varied voices ot a numerous assem¬
blage of them, that they produce a more harmonious
effect, particularly when softened by the murmur of the
waters. At the setting in of frosty weather, wild swans
are said to associate in prodigious multitudes, and, thus
united, to use every’ effort to prevent the water from
freezing j which they are enabled to accomplish for a
considerable length of time, by constantly stirring and
dashing it with their extended wings. The wild swan
has been styled “ the peaceful monarch of the lake,”
because, conscious of his superior strength, he fears no
enemy, nor suffers any bird, however powerful, to mo¬
lest him, at the same time that he preys on none of the
feathered tribe. His vigorous wing shields him against
/• the attacks even of the eagle, and his blows from it are
so powerful, as to stun or kill the fiercest of his foes.
His food consists of the grasses and weeds, and the seeds
and roots of plants which grow on the margins of the
water, and of the myriads of insects which skim over or
float on its surface occasionally, too, of the slimy inha¬
bitants within its bosom. The female makes her nest
of the withered leaves and stalks of reeds and rushes,
and commonly lays six or seven thick shelled, white
eggs. The incubation is said to last six weeks. Both
male and female are very attentive to their young, and
will suffer no enemy to approach them.
Tame swan.—V>\\\ semicylindrical, black 5 cere black j
body white. The plumage of this species is of the same
snowy whiteness as that of the preceding, and the bird is
covered next the body with the samekindof finesoftdown j
but itis of a larger size, and is furnished with a projecting,
callous, black tubercle, or knob, at the base of the upper
mandible. But the most remarkable distinction consists
in the conformation of the windpipe, which, in the pre¬
sent species, enters at once into the lungs, so that the ut¬
most noise the bird can utter, is a mere hiss: whereas, in
the wild species, the windpipe first enters the chest a
little way, is then reflected in the form of a trumpet •,
after which it enters a second time, when, dividing into
two branches, it goes on to join the lungs. The man¬
ners and habits of both species in the wild state are very
similar. The beauty, graceful motion, and majesty of
this bird, when it is wafted along a piece of water, at-
319
Olor.
O L O G Y.
tract the admiration of every beholder: but, out of the Ansere;
liquid element, the elegance of its form in a great mea-v—v—
sure disappears. While the male and female are em¬
ployed with the cares of the young brood, it is not safe
to approach them j for they will fly on a stranger, and
sometimes beat him to the ground by repeated blows. Notr
withstanding, however, their great strength ot wing, a
slight blow 011 the head will dispatch them. Multitudes
of this species are found in Russia and Siberia, as well
as farther southward, in a wild state. They occur, with¬
out an owner, on the Trent, on the inlet ot the sea near
Abbotsbury in Dorsetshire, and on some other rivers
and lakes, in different parts of the British isles. Those
on the Thames have, for ages, been protected as royal
property ; and it is still reckoned felony to steal their
eggs. In former times great numbers were reared for
the table : but they are now reckoned by most a coarse,
kind of food. A fattened cygnet, however, is still ac¬
counted a great delicacy, and usually fetches upwards of
a guinea in the poultry market. It is generally belie¬
ved that the swan lives to a great age, though the term
of three centuries, assigned to it by some authors, is cer¬
tainly much exaggerated. The temale nestles among
the rough herbage near the water’s edge, lays from six
to eight large white eggs, and sits on them about as ma¬
ny weeks before they are hatched. The young do not
acquire their full plumage till the second year. If kept
out of the water, and confined to a court-yard, the swan
soon becomes dirty, dull, and spiritless. Its usual food
consists of fish and water plants. 320
Black swan.—Black j wings edged with white j bill dtnrfs.
red 3 upper mandible blackish at the tip, a yellow spot
near the lip 3 legs black 3 leet paler. Tixtent ol wing
four feet eight inches. Inhabits various parts of New
Holland 3 but little is known respecting its man¬
ners. _ 321
Snoiv goose.—Body snow-white 3 front yellowish 3 ten Eyberk.
first quill feathers black 3 bill and legs red. Size of a.rca-
goose 3 length two feet eight inches 3 extent of wing three
feet and a half 3 weight between five and six pounds.
Great numbers of this species occur about Hudson’s bay;
visit Severn river in May, and stay a fortnight, but go
farther north to breed. They return to Severn Fort
about the beginning of September, and stay till the mid¬
dle of October, when they depart for the south, and
are observed in immense flocks attended by their young.
At this time many thousands are killed by the inhabi-
tants, who pluck and eviscerate them, and put them in¬
to holes in the earth, where they are preserved quite
sweet by frost, throughout the severe season. These
birds seem also to occupy the west side of America and
Kamtschatka. Iu the summer months they are plenti¬
ful on the arctic coast of Siberia 3 but never migrate be-
yound 1 30° of longitude. They are supposed to pass the
winter in more moderate climes, as they have been seen
flying over Silesia 3 probably on their passage to some
other country, as it does not appear that they continue
there. Those of America, in like manner, winter in
Carolina. The Siberians decoy them by a person cover¬
ed with a white skin, and crawling on all fours, whom
they are stupid enough to mistake for their leader,
and whom they follow, when driven by men in their
rear, till he entangles them in nets, or leads them into
a sort of pond prepared for the purpose.
Antarctic goose.— Snowy 3 bill black 3 legs yellow. Antarctic*
The
222