. Birds and their ways; . atthis expression is applied to people whohave the habit of making out their posses-sions or their prospects to be much betterthan they are. But it is really true, continued,MissHarson, that the swan is only a handsomespecies of goose; and it belongs to thegreat family of web-footed water-fowl, ofwhich the flamingo is, perhaps, the mostremarkable specimen. Swans, geese andducks are classed tog-ether as being allswimmers and resembling one another inmany of their habits. Looking upon theswan as a goose, it will be well to beginwith a little study of that particular spe
. Birds and their ways; . atthis expression is applied to people whohave the habit of making out their posses-sions or their prospects to be much betterthan they are. But it is really true, continued,MissHarson, that the swan is only a handsomespecies of goose; and it belongs to thegreat family of web-footed water-fowl, ofwhich the flamingo is, perhaps, the mostremarkable specimen. Swans, geese andducks are classed tog-ether as being allswimmers and resembling one another inmany of their habits. Looking upon theswan as a goose, it will be well to beginwith a little study of that particular species. Common tame geese are, as we know,though not graceful or wise, very usefulbirds. In some places, their quills andfeathers yield nearly as much profit ascomes from the flocks and herds. Thesefowl are descended from the wild goose(Anser), of which there are several varieties, SWANS AND GEESE. 319 and they are found on coasts and marshesin many different parts of the world. Theflight of these birds is heavy and sedate,. the SWAN (Cygnus). rising to a great height when they aretraveling any distance, at which times theyadvance in two lines arranged in the formof a wedge (;> ): 320 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. Alike in wedge-like ranks aloft, The geese, with downy plumage soft,Or in the long-drawn columns range,As Natures dictate prompts the change,Speed to the South on clanging pens,To winter in the marshy fens. If this flight takes place early in theseason, it is thought by farmers to foretella long and severe winter; and if theylinger late, mild weather is looked loud criesârather harsh and grat-ing when heard close at handâare pleasantto the ear when coming from a distance, es-pecially in the stillness of the night/ Live goose-feathers, meaning feathersplucked from the poor birds while they werealive, are so much used for beds, as well asfor a variety of other purposesâwhile theirquills, before steel pens were invented, weremade into pens, and thus helped to do th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1883
