Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/520

 500 SWAN is generally white, free from dirt. The nest is bulky, of grass and coarse materials, placed on the ground among the rushes and near the water ; it is sometimes raised a foot or more to avoid inundations; the male guards the nest, assists the female in the care of the young, and boldly defends them even against predaceous animals and man; the eggs are five to eight, and incubation lasts six weeks. In the typical genus cygnus (Linn.) the bill is longer than the head, the base covered by a soft skin extending to the anterior half of the eyes, and the nostrils in the middle portion; lower part of tibia bare ; tarsus much short- er than the foot, compressed and scaly ; webs full ; hind toe small, much elevated, with a narrow lobe ; tail of 20 to 24 feathers, rounded or wedge-shaped ; sexes similarly colored, but the females the smaller. "Wagler has divided the old genus cygnus into two, cygnus and olor, according as there is or is not a swollen fleshy tubercle at the base of the bill ; in the former also the lamella of the edges of the bill are visibly projecting, and in the latter not ; in the former belongs the tame swan of Eu- rope, and in the latter the wild swan and both of the North American species. The Euro- pean wild or whooping swan (C.ferus, Ray) is- 4 to 4f ft. long, white, with the head and neck tinged with yellowish, and a black bill, yellowish at the base and without tubercle; it is a winter visitor in Great Britain, migrating northward in the spring to Lapland, Russia, Siberia, &c., where it breeds; the young are brownish gray. The male has a peculiar note resembling the word "hoop," repeated several times in succession, the intensity greatly in- creased by the convolutions of the windpipe, which, after penetrating the keel of the breast bone to its posterior portion, is bent forward again to the front of this bone before going to the lungs; this peculiarity is not found in the tame swan, which has a soft and plain- tive voice. The swan is cruel and vindictive ; the males fight savagely at pairing time, and the female with young attacks everything which approaches her nest ; it can repel any bird, even the eagle, and in fighting the com- batants try to drown one another by holding the rival's head under water, often with suc- cess. Though heavy fliers, they rise to a great height, uttering a loud, harsh, and trumpet- like note when sailing high in the air; when enraged or alarmed they can swim faster than a man can walk. This bird was sacred to Apollo, and was the bird of the Muses; it was fabulously celebrated for its melodi- ous song, especially at the time of its death. The flesh is dark and tough. The European tame swan (0. olor, Gmel.) has a red bill, with black tip and sides, and a tubercle at the base ; the trachea has no convolutions. It is gen- erally distributed over Europe and America as an ornamental bird ; it is large and handsome, a permanent resident in temperate Europe ; in Great Britain from remote periods it has been protected by preservative laws; the male is called a cob and the female a pen ; its life is said to extend to a century. The young have a gray plumage and a lead-colored bill. The European Tame Swan (Cygnns olor). flesh is said to have a flavor between that of the goose and the hare. The most prized are brought to the United States from Hamburg, and are generally what are called Polish swans (G. immutabilis, Yarr.), from the Baltic shores, noted for having white cygnets. The Ameri- can or whistling swan ((7. Americanus, Sharp- less) is 55 in. long and about 7 ft. in alar ex- tent, with a bill of 4 in. ; the bill is as long as the head, high at the base, the feathers on the forehead ending in a semicircular outline ; the nostrils far forward; tail of 20 feathers; the adult is pure white with bill and legs black, and an orange or yellowish spot in front of the eye ; young birds are brownish, especially on the head ; they are five or six years in com- ing to maturity. This species is spread over the North American continent from the At- lantic to the Pacific ; many are shot in winter and spring on the coasts of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware; when they are feeding, one always acts as sentinel ; they fly in an angle, each line in single file, the leading bird as he gets weary retiring to the rear. The nest is described as made of moss, peat, and sticks, 5 to 6 ft. long, 4f ft. wide, and 2 ft. high, with the cavity 1 ft. in diameter; the eggs are brownish white, clouded with darker. The trumpeter swan (C. buccinator, Rich.) is about 5 ft. long and 7 ft. in alar extent, with the bill 4^ in. ; bill longer than the head, the feath- ers on the forehead with a semi-elliptical out- line ; nostrils with the anterior extremity only as far forward as the middle of the commis- sure ; tail with 24 feathers ; the adults are pure white, the legs and bill entirely black, the lat- ter without any red spot at base. It is found from the Mississippi valley to the Pacific, ap- pearing on the lower Ohio about the end of October, and going south when the ice gets thick ; it is very common in the fur countries, breeding as far north as lat. 61 N. The note is more sonorous than in the whistling swan ; it is not so wary as the last named species ;