. The naturalist's library : containing scientific and popular descriptions of man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles and insects . rsh lines ; in its motions, nothing con-strained or abrupt, but the roundest contours, and the easiest transitions;the eye wanders over the whole with unalloyed pleasure, and, with everychange of position, every part assumes a new grace. It will swira fasterthan a man can walk. This bird has long been rendered domestic; and it is now doubtful whe-her there be any of the tame kind in a state of nature. The color of the tameBAVun is entirely white, and it generall
. The naturalist's library : containing scientific and popular descriptions of man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles and insects . rsh lines ; in its motions, nothing con-strained or abrupt, but the roundest contours, and the easiest transitions;the eye wanders over the whole with unalloyed pleasure, and, with everychange of position, every part assumes a new grace. It will swira fasterthan a man can walk. This bird has long been rendered domestic; and it is now doubtful whe-her there be any of the tame kind in a state of nature. The color of the tameBAVun is entirely white, and it generally Aveighs full twenty pounds. Under ^Anas anser, Lin. Anas leuoopsis, Temm. ^Anas bemicia, his. * Anas scgetum, Gmel. Anas olor, Lin. 664 AVES—SWAN. the feathers is a very thick, soft down, which is made an article of com-merce, for purposes of both use and ornament. The windpipe smks downinto the lungs in the ordinary manner; and it is the most silent of all thefeathered tribe ; it can do nothing more than hiss, which it does on receivingany provocation. In these respects, it is very different from the wild orwhistling This beautiful bird is as delicate in its appetites as it is elegant in its chief food is corn, bread, herbs growing in the water, and roots and seeds,which are found near the margin. At the time of incubation, it prepares anest in some retired part of the bank, and chiefly where there is an islet inthe stream. This is composed of water plants, long grass, and sticks; andthe male and female assist in forming it with great assiduity. The swanlays seven or eight white eggs, one every other day, much larger than thoseof a goose, wdth a hard, and sometimes a tuberous shell. It sits six weeksbefore its young are excluded; which are ash colored when they first leavethe shell, and for some months after. It is not a little dangerous to ap-proach the old ones, when their little family are feeding around them. Theirfears as well as their pride, seem to t
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Keywords: ., bookauthordwightjonathan185, bookcentury1800, booksubjectzoology
