. An illustrated manual of British birds. Birds. ANATID^. 417 ''. - —:i-i^^rt^^^!^r-_r=-. :. THE MUTE SWAN. Cygnus 6lor (J. F. Gmelin). The Mute or Tame Swan is said to have been brought to England from Cyprus by Richard I. ; but be this as it may, the species is now generally distributed throughout the British Islands in a semi- domesticated condition, and of late years it has even been introduced in some of the Outer Hebrides, where it breeds, and the birds fly about as if wild. There is a celebrated ancient swannery at Abbots- bury, in Dorsetshire; large numbers inhabit the streams and broa
. An illustrated manual of British birds. Birds. ANATID^. 417 ''. - —:i-i^^rt^^^!^r-_r=-. :. THE MUTE SWAN. Cygnus 6lor (J. F. Gmelin). The Mute or Tame Swan is said to have been brought to England from Cyprus by Richard I. ; but be this as it may, the species is now generally distributed throughout the British Islands in a semi- domesticated condition, and of late years it has even been introduced in some of the Outer Hebrides, where it breeds, and the birds fly about as if wild. There is a celebrated ancient swannery at Abbots- bury, in Dorsetshire; large numbers inhabit the streams and broads of Norfolk; and the presence of this handsome bird on the Thames and other waters must be familiar to every one. In Ireland it maintains itself on lakes and rivers in many counties, and it has been obtained as far west as Achill Island. The individuals which are occasionally shot during winter in Britain are often assumed to be some of our home-bred birds which have strayed from their usual haunts ; but such is not necessarily the case, for the Mute Swan still breeds in a perfectly wild state at no greater distance from us than Denmark and the south of Sweden, whence it is forced by cold to migrate in winter; while in a free (as well as in a half-protected) condition it is found in many parts of Germany, especially in East Prussia. Thoroughly wild birds nest K K. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Saunders, Howard, 1835-1907. London, Gurney and Jackson
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds
