. Animals in menageries. ity of reason, that theSwan with two Necks, — a well known sign in Londonand elsewhere,—is but a corruption of the swan with twonicks, Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire, was formerly, as it stillis, famous for the multitude of its swans : this is men-tioned both by Dr. Malone, and by colonel Montagu :|:,who says there were still between 600 and 700, althoughformerly there were as many thousands. Swans are well known to be long-lived; but much * Gen. Hist, of Birds, x. 222. f Archjeologia, xxi. 163. $ Orn. Diet, vol iii. or Supp. Bewicks swan. 197 uncertainty hangs on the prec
. Animals in menageries. ity of reason, that theSwan with two Necks, — a well known sign in Londonand elsewhere,—is but a corruption of the swan with twonicks, Abbotsbury, in Dorsetshire, was formerly, as it stillis, famous for the multitude of its swans : this is men-tioned both by Dr. Malone, and by colonel Montagu :|:,who says there were still between 600 and 700, althoughformerly there were as many thousands. Swans are well known to be long-lived; but much * Gen. Hist, of Birds, x. 222. f Archjeologia, xxi. 163. $ Orn. Diet, vol iii. or Supp. Bewicks swan. 197 uncertainty hangs on the precise number of years towhich they attain. Some content themselves withstating this period at thirty years; while others^ adopt-ing more marvellous reports, assert that there are manyauthenticated instances of swans living to the age ofa century. The former may be believed; but the latterseems all but incredible. Bewicks Swan. Cygnus jBewickii, YarrelL (Fig. 30.) Cygnus Bewickii, Li/ni. Trans, xvi. 44f;. 30 vx j^pr^^ f. Until within these few years it was never suspectedthat, among the wild swans inhabiting our islands, therewere two distinct species, confounded by all systematicwriters under one name ; or that this second species, towhich the name of Bewick has been so justly attached,was also a native of Arctic America. In the Journal ofLewis and Clarke, it is more than probable that swan alluded to in the following extract, refers tothat now before us : — The swans are of two kinds ; thelarge and the small. The large swan is the same as theone common in the Atlantic States; the small diflPersfrom the large only in size and note ; it is about onefourth less, and its note is entirely different. Thesebirds were first found below the great narrows of theColumbia, near the Chilluc-keti-quaw nation ; they areo 3 198 ANIMALS IN MENAGERIES. very abundant in this neighbourhood^ and remainedwith the party all winter ; and in number they exceedthose of the larger species
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Keywords: ., bookauthorrichmondch, bookcentury1800, booksubjectanimalbehavior
