. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. SCREAMERS, DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 73 and fetching, if purchased aH\e at the pit, aljinit two guineas each. The pit is con- structed of brickwork, and is about 74 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 6 feet deepâthe water, admitted from the river, being about 2 feet deep. The food is placed in floating troughs. The birds, " when so disposed," saws Mr. Southwell, " leave the water bv walking up a sloping stage, and thus obtain access to a railed-in enclosure, where the_\' ma>'
. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. SCREAMERS, DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 73 and fetching, if purchased aH\e at the pit, aljinit two guineas each. The pit is con- structed of brickwork, and is about 74 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 6 feet deepâthe water, admitted from the river, being about 2 feet deep. The food is placed in floating troughs. The birds, " when so disposed," saws Mr. Southwell, " leave the water bv walking up a sloping stage, and thus obtain access to a railed-in enclosure, where the_\' ma>' rest and preen theniseh'; The beautiful swan-like carriage, so familiar in the floating bird, seems to belong only to the mute swan, the other species of white swans carrying the neck more or less straight, and keeping the wings closely folded to the bod\-. Xo greater anomal)- could at one time lia\ e been imagined than a Black S\v.\x. For centuries it was considered to be an impossibility. We owe the discover}- of such a bird to the Dutch navigator Willem de Vlaming, who, more than 200 j'cars ago, captured the first specimen at the mouth of what is now known, in consequence, as the Swan Ri\'er, A }'ear after their capture accounts reached England through the burgomaster of Amsterdam, and these were published by the Royal Society in 1698. The bird is now fairly common on ornamental waters, where its sooty-black plumage, set off by pure white quill-feathers and coral-red bill, contrasts strongly with tiie typical snow-white mute swan, generally kept with it. Equally interesting is the handsome Swax of South America. In this species the plumage is pure white, save that of the neck, which is black. The distribution of this species is practically the same as that of the Coscoroba swan. Breeding freely in confinement, it has become a fairly common bird on ornamental waters. It shares with the mute swan the reputation of gracefulness when afloat, swimming with
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectzoology
