_SCREAMERS, DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS._
Familiar as are most of our readers with all save the first mentioned of
these birds, yet few probably suspect how great a wealth of forms this
group displays. All are more or less aquatic in their habits, of heavy
build, with long necks and small heads, short legs, and short wings and
tails. The young are hatched covered with a peculiar kind of down, which
more nearly resembles that of the Ostrich Tribe than the down of other
birds, and they run about or accompany their parents to the water either
immediately or a few hours after hatching. Several species have become
domesticated, and in some cases have given rise to peculiar breeds, whilst
many are much in demand for the purpose of enlivening ornamental waters.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S._] [_Regent's Park._
CRESTED SCREAMER, OR CHAKA.
The Crested and Horned Screamers are the only members of the family without
webbed feet.]
The least-known members of the group are the very remarkable and extremely
interesting SCREAMERS of South America, of which there are three species.
These are large birds, presenting some resemblances to the Game-birds on
the one hand and the Geese on the other. Not only the beak, but the skull,
in certain characters, recalls that of the Game-birds. The body may be
described as goose-like, but in the longer legs and enormous toes, which
are not connected by a web, these birds recall the Megapodes, or
Mound-builders (page 411).
[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
AYLESBURY DUCK.
This is one of the most esteemed of all domesticated breeds.]
The screamers are generally regarded as primitive members of the group with
which they are now associated; but in many respects they are quite
peculiar. Not the least interesting of their habits is the great
predilection they observe for soaring in the air at immense altitudes,
uttering the while the curious cry to which they owe their name. Several
birds often do this at once. Yet stranger is the fact that they not seldom
gather together in vast flocks to sing in concert. Mr. Hudson, for
instance, states that the species known as the CRESTED SCREAMER on one
occasion surprised him by "an awful and overpowering burst of 'melody,'"
which saluted him from half a million of voices at an out-of-the-way spot
in the pampas one evening at nine o'clock; and, again, once at noon he
heard flock after flock take up their song round the entire circuit of a
certain lake, each flock waiting its turn to sing, and only stopping when
the duty had been performed.
Like the gannet, these birds are richly supplied with air-cells between the
body and the skin, and between many of the muscles; so highly are these
cells developed, that it is said a crackling sound is emitted when pressure
is applied to the skin.
[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
POCHARD.
This is one of the diving-ducks.]
The wings of these birds are armed each with a pair of powerful and sharp
spurs, recalling those of certain of the Plover Tribe (page 421), though in
the latter only one spur is present on each wing.
The division of the remainder of this group into Ducks, Geese, and Swans is
generally recognised, but no hard-and-fast line can yet be drawn between
the several sections. We must regard them as representing adaptations to
peculiar modes of life, which appear to be most marked in the duck-like
forms. These may be divided into FRESH-WATER DUCKS, SALT-WATER DUCKS,
SPINY-TAILED DUCKS, and MERGANSERS.
Of the FRESH-WATER DUCKS, the most familiar is the WILD-DUCK, or MALLARD.
This is a resident British bird, and also the parent of the domesticated
stock, which frequently closely resembles the wild form. In this species,
as with the majority of the fresh-water ducks, the males wear a distinctive
livery; but the males for a few weeks during the summer assume more or less
completely the livery of the female, a process aptly described as going
into "eclipse." The assumption of the female dress at this season is
necessary, since it harmonises completely with the surrounding foliage, and
so effectually conceals the bird at a time when it is peculiarly helpless;
for, as with all birds, the quills or flight-feathers are cast off by the
process known as moulting once a year, but instead of being replaced in
pairs, and the flight remaining unaffected, they are shed all at once, so
that escape from enemies must be sought by concealment.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. F. Piggott_] [_Leighton Buzzard._
EIDER-DUCK.
It is the down of this bird which is so much in demand for quilts.]
Usually among birds the male has the more powerful voice, but with the
mallard and its allies the reverse is the case, the female giving forth the
loud familiar "quack, quack," whilst the note of the male sounds like a
feeble attempt to answer its mate, but smothered by a cold in the head.
This peculiar and characteristic subdued voice is associated with a
remarkable bulb-shaped bony enlargement at the bottom of the windpipe, just
where it branches off to the right and left lungs, the female being without
this swelling.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. F. Piggott_] [_Leighton Buzzard._
SHELDRAKE.
The female bird is just entering her nest at the bottom of a long burrow.]
The nest is composed of grass, and lined with down plucked by the female
from her own breast, with the sole object, it is generally believed, of
keeping the eggs warm; but it is possible that the down is removed as much
for the sake of bringing the warm surface of the body in closer contact
with the eggs. The site chosen for the nest is exceedingly varied; usually
the nest is placed on the ground and near the water, but sometimes in a
hedgerow or in a wood, and occasionally in trees, and instances are on
record where the deserted nests of hawks and crows have been appropriated.
At such times the young seem to be brought to the ground by the parent,
which carries them down in her bill. It is some time before the wings of
the young birds are big enough to carry them; indeed, they are quite full
grown in so far as the body is concerned. At this stage they are known as
"flappers." Advantage was at one time taken of their helplessness in the
"sport" known as "flapper-shooting." On other occasions numbers of people
assembled and "beat" a vast tract of country, driving these young flappers
before them to a given spot where nets were placed, in which as many as 150
dozen have been taken at one time. Fortunately this practice has been
abolished by Act of Parliament.
Several very distinct domesticated breeds of ducks have been derived from
the mallard. The commonest breed differs but little, save in its great
size, from the wild parent form, but the most esteemed are those known as
the ROUEN and AYLESBURY. The PENGUIN-DUCK is the most aberrant and the
ugliest of these breeds, having a peculiarly upright, awkward carriage, and
very small wings.
The SALT-WATER DUCKS, or DIVING-DUCKS, are for the most part of a heavier
build than the foregoing species, and many are of a sombre coloration. All
the species are expert divers, and in consequence have the legs, which are
short, placed far backwards, and this causes them to assume a more upright
carriage when on land. The curious bony bulb at the base of the windpipe
found in the fresh-water species becomes in the salt-water forms greatly
enlarged, and its walls incompletely ossified, leaving large spaces to be
filled by peculiarly delicate sheets of membrane. The majority of the
species in this section frequent the open sea, but some occur inland.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
PARADISE-DUCKS.
This species is a native of New Zealand, where the photograph was taken.
The bird on the right with the white head is the female.]
One of the most useful, and at the same time most ornamental, of this
section is the EIDER-DUCK, the male in full plumage being a truly
magnificent bird: the female, as in the majority of ducks, is clad in sober
colours. In Iceland and Norway the eider-duck is strictly protected, a fine
being imposed for killing it during the breeding-season, or even for firing
a gun near its haunts. This most unusual care is, however, by no means of a
disinterested kind, but is extended solely that certain privileged persons
may rob the birds of their eggs and the down on which they rest, the latter
being the valuable eiderdown so much in demand for bed-coverlets and other
purposes. "The eggs and down," says Professor Newton, "are taken at
intervals of a few days by the owners of the 'eider-fold,' and the birds
are thus kept depositing both during the whole season.... Every duck is
ultimately allowed to hatch an egg or two to keep up the stock." Mr. W. C.
Sheppard gives an interesting account of a visit to an eider-colony on an
island off the coast of Iceland. "On landing," he says, "the ducks and
their nests were everywhere. Great brown ducks sat upon their nests in
masses, and at every step started from under our feet. It was with
difficulty we avoided treading on some of the nests. On the coast of the
opposite shore was a wall built of large stones ... about 3 feet high and
of considerable thickness. At the bottom, on both sides of it, alternate
stones had been left out, so as to form a series of square apartments for
the ducks to nest in. Almost every apartment was occupied.... The house
itself was a marvel. The earthen walls that surrounded it, and the window
embrasures, were occupied by ducks. On the ground the house was fringed
with ducks. On the turf slopes of its roof we could see ducks, and a duck
sat on the door-scraper. The grassy banks had been cut into square patches,
about 18 inches having been removed, and each hollow had been filled with
ducks. A windmill was infested, and so were all the outhouses, mounds,
rocks, and crevices. The ducks were everywhere. Many were so tame that we
could stroke them on their nests, and the good lady told us that there was
scarcely a duck on the island that would not allow her to take its eggs
without flight or fear."
The nest is composed externally of seaweed, and lined with down, which is
plucked by the female from her breast as incubation proceeds, till
eventually it completely conceals the eggs. Each nest yields about
one-sixth of a pound, and is worth, on the spot, from twelve to fifteen
shillings a pound.
The POCHARDS, SCAUPS, GOLDEN-EYES, and SCOTERS are relatives of the
eider-duck; but since all resemble the latter in their general mode of
life, we need not consider them here.
[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
CAPE BARREN GOOSE.
This bird is a native of South-east Australia and Tasmania, and remarkable
for its short beak.]
The MERGANSERS and SMEWS, to which reference has been made, differ markedly
from all the ducks so far considered in the peculiar formation of the bill,
which is relatively long and narrow, with its edges armed with sharp,
tooth-like processes projecting backwards towards the back of the mouth.
These processes are really only horny spines, and have no relation to
teeth, although they are used, as teeth would be, for holding slippery
prey, such as fish, which form the greater part of the diet of these birds.
So far, in all the ducks which we have considered, the male differs
conspicuously from the female in plumage; but in the forms we are now about
to describe both sexes are coloured alike.
The first is the COMMON SHELDRAKE, which seems to lie somewhere on the
borderland between the Ducks and the Geese. It is a very beautiful bird,
conspicuously marked with broad bands of orange-chestnut, white, and black.
The beak being coral-red in colour, and further ornamented by a peculiar
fleshy knob at its base, serves to set off the glossy bottle-green colour
of the head and neck. As appears to be invariably the case where both sexes
are coloured alike, the female builds her nest in a hole, generally a
rabbit-burrow, whilst the young have a distinct livery, duller in tone than
that of the parent. The female sheldrake breeds in Britain, and may be
frequently seen at sea flying in small parties, which have been likened to
a flock of butterflies.
The GEESE include birds of somewhat conspicuous coloration, besides a
considerable number of more subdued aspect. The sexes are distinguished by
different names, the female being known as the Goose, the male as the
Gander, whilst the young is the Gosling. As we have already mentioned,
there is no hard-and-fast line to be drawn between the three sections of
this group. The Ducks are connected by the Sheldrakes with the Geese,
through the Spur-winged Goose, the Egyptian and Orinoco Geese, and certain
other species which cannot be alluded to on this occasion.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
AUSTRALIAN PYGMY GOOSE.
The pygmy geese are expert divers.]
The SPUR-WINGED GEESE, of which there are two species, are African birds,
and derive their name from the long spur seated on the wing.
A still more remarkable form is the HALF-WEBBED GOOSE, so called from the
fact that its feet are only partially webbed. It has a black-and-white
plumage, a hooked beak, and a large warty prominence on the front of the
head. It spends most of its time perched on the branches of the Australian
tea-trees, and rarely enters the water. The windpipe is peculiar, being
coiled in several folds between the skin and the breast-muscles.
From these peculiar forms we pass to the true geese. The largest living
species is the CHINESE or GUINEA-GOOSE of Eastern Siberia, regarded as the
stock from which the domesticated geese of Eastern countries have been
derived.
European domesticated geese have been derived from the GREY or GREY-LAG
GOOSE, a species at one time exceedingly common in England, breeding in
considerable numbers in the fen districts, where the young were frequently
taken and reared with the large flock of domesticated geese commonly kept
at that time for the sake of their feathers. The grey-lag goose, however,
has long ceased to breed in England, though a few still nest in Scotland.
The most important breeds derived from the grey-lag are the TOULOUSE and
EMDEN. Other British species are the BEAN-GOOSE, PINK-FOOTED and
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, and the "BLACK" BRENT and BARNACLE-GEESE, in all of
which the sexes are precisely similar in coloration and subdued in tone.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S._] [_Regent's Park._
BLACK-NECKED SWAN.
The fleshy knob at the base of the bill is of a bright red colour.]
In the New World some very beautiful white geese are found, which are still
more interesting in that the females have a different coloration. These are
the KELP- and UPLAND-GEESE of Patagonia and the Falklands. The female of
the kelp-goose is brownish black above and black barred with white below,
whilst the female of the upland-goose is rufous and black in colour. The
latter may be seen in London parks.
Lastly, we have a few species known from their small size as PYGMY GEESE of
Australia, India, and Africa. Perhaps the best known is the Indian species,
called the COTTON-TEAL. They are tiny birds, resembling small ducks rather
than geese, and dive admirably, a feat which the larger species do not
perform.
[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
TRUMPETER- AND WHOOPER-SWANS.
The trumpeter is the bird in the foreground; the whooper is remarkable for
its musical note, resembling the word "whoop" quickly repeated.]
The SWANS are linked with the Geese through a very beautiful South American
species, known as the COSCOROBA SWAN. It is the smallest of all the swans,
pure white in colour, save the tips of the greater wing-quills, which are
black, and the coral-red bill and feet.
Of all the swans, probably the best known is the MUTE SWAN, the
semi-domesticated descendants of which are so common on ornamental waters.
For hundreds of years the latter were jealously guarded, none but the
larger freeholders being allowed to keep them, and then not without a
licence from the Crown; with this licence was coupled an obligation to mark
each swan with a particular mark, cut with a knife or other instrument
through the skin of the beak, whereby ownership might be established.
It would seem that these swans and their descendants were not derived from
the native wild stock, but were introduced into England, it is said, from
Cyprus by Richard I. At the present day large "swanneries" have almost
ceased to exist. Perhaps the largest is that of the Earl of Ilchester, at
Abbotsbury, near Weymouth. In 1878 between 1,300 and 1,400 swans were to be
seen there at one time, but latterly the number has been reduced to about
half.
Although swans do not perhaps stand so high in the general esteem as table
delicacies as with our forefathers, there are yet many who appreciate the
flesh of this bird; but the St. Helen's Swan-pit at Norwich is the only
place in England where they are systematically fattened for the table. Here
from 70 to 200 cygnets--as the young swans are called--caught in the
neighbouring rivers, are placed early in August, and fed upon cut grass and
barley till Christmas, when they are fit for table, weighing, when
"dressed," about 15 lbs., and fetching, if purchased alive at the pit,
about two guineas each. The pit is constructed of brickwork, and is about
74 feet long, 32 feet wide, and 6 feet deep--the water, admitted from the
river, being about 2 feet deep. The food is placed in floating troughs. The
birds, "when so disposed," says Mr. Southwell, "leave the water by walking
up a sloping stage, and thus obtain access to a railed-in enclosure, where
they may rest and preen themselves."
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
body.
No greater anomaly could at one time have been imagined than a BLACK SWAN.
For centuries it was considered to be an impossibility. We owe the
discovery of such a bird to the Dutch navigator Willem de Vlaming, who,
more than 200 years ago, captured the first specimen at the mouth of what
is now known, in consequence, as the Swan River. A year 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 the typical
snow-white mute swan, generally kept with it.
Equally interesting is the handsome BLACK-NECKED SWAN 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 the neck curved and
wings raised.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
AUSTRALIAN BLACK SWANS AND CYGNETS.
The cygnets are light-coloured, like those of the white swans]
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