The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-07-22
BLACK SWANS AND THEIR YOUNG.
A Truant Male, a Devoted Female,
and Three Little Cygnets.

A Truant Male, a Devoted Female,
and Three Little Cygnets.
Regular visitors to Central park, who
nave been watching for month the
black swan sitting upon her nest on the
bowlder that juts out of the lower lake,
north OF the bridge that spans the mar
row neck of the lake. discovered last
week, says The Neso York Tribune, that
the parent had reaped the fruit of her
long and solitary vigil. A broken egg
shell lay upon the rock beside her. and
cygnet as large as pigeon and COW
cred with down of the shade of NAL
tese kitten rested only partly concealed
by one of the black wings of the moth
er. Later in the day there were two
more broken egg-shells, and two more
cygnets waddled out on the rock and
crowded under the old swans protect
ing wing. Satisfied that her task was
completed, the mother then rose from
the nest and examined it with great
care to make sure that no stray eggs
were left unmatched.
The male swan, who had been some
what delinquent during the last week
of the females isolation, but had be-
come again attentive day or two be-
fore the young were hatched, showed a
commendable solicitude, thrusting his
red bill among the sticks and straws of
the nest. The female appears to be
afflicted with as much stiffness of the
limbs on rising as Rip Van Winkle af-
ter his long nap. She stretched herself
and smoothed her ruffied feathers, and
then the whole family moved down the
side of the rock So. entered the water.
The cygnets plunged in without hesi-
tation and appeared more at home as
they padded along beside the mother
than when they were upon the rock.
The male swan showed a proud sense
of Importance at this addition to his
family. He would swim little in ad-
vance, utterng shrill note occasion
ally and bidding defiance to other swim
ming fowl that approached. They did
not 90 far from the rock, and soon re-
turned to it. The female swan APP
peared to be much refreshed by the
bath, and the male returned after a
short absence with food for the party.
Every day for several weeks lines of
people have formed on the bridge to
watch the devoted mother as she sat
upon her nest, SO lonely and with per-
feet resignation. At times her head
would be buried under her wing, but at
any unusual noise the red beak would
start out and the long neck would twist
in graceful curves as she looked in
quiringly around ON all sides. For the
first few weeks the male swan never
left the rock for an interval longer than
a few minutes. He would swim around
the rock, darting tiercely at the geese
and other swans who attempted to
enter this portion of the lake, and vent
ing his spite on the black birds and
sparrows who presumed to alight on the
rock. When he became tired he would
sit beside his mate or take her place
while she made a. short excursion for
exercise. He was extremely fierce, and
showed the greatest dislike to. the
swan-boats that always stopped at the
rock to permit the passengers to look
at the nest, and the heaviest storms
that swept over the rock had no more
effect on his devotion than they had on
the mother on the nest. But during
the third week he seemed to become
less fierce and more uneasy. The other
waterfowl were permitted to
approach without exciting his
impatience, and about week
before the young were hatched,
as flock of the swans of his own
species were swimming by the rock,
he joined them and deserted his post.
His companion looked and called for
him at intervals for a day or two after
she was left alone, but seeing that he
was contentedly swimming at the furth-
er end of the lake with the other
swans, she did not give herself up to
despair like Ariadne, but replaced her
head under her wing and nestled more
| closely to the rock. 1t was feared by
Supt: Conklin that she might leave her
nest to seek food, and that the eggs
would become cold He directed that
some food should be placed as near
as possible within her reach. She ate
little of it, however, until the young
had been hatched. When the truant
before the Matching he appeared to
understand that his conduct had been
| reprehensible. For the greater part
of the first day he continued to swim
around the rock without venturing
| upon it. By degrees he became bolder
and climed up beside the nest, where
he remained all night and the next day
he was as fierce toward all intrudcrs MS
on the day when the female took pos
session of the rock.
There are now ten full-grown black
swans in Central park. The finest
couple were secured six or eight years
ago from Australia, when black swans
were still doubted by many to exist.
They are slightly smaller than than the
white swan, and the female is smaller
than the male. The first swans were
killed recently by some of the dogs thai
get into the park. They had chosen
this rock in the lower lake on which
they built their nest of sticks and straws.
This place. which is isolated and secure,
has now been taken by tho present