The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-04-16
MARITAL RELATIONS OF BIRDS.

MARITAL RELATIONS OF BIRDS.
In an address delivered recently at the
Waldorf Hotel, New York, by Mfs' o'''e
Thorne Miller. on birds and their soc'ai
life, the lecturer, as reported IN inc III
bune, said the most important feature
to be noticed in this connection Is mat
bird marriages are permanent. The III
stances OF this cOnstancy OF aHecuoh' inc
lecturer said. were numerous.
That parrots were notably devoted
birds and were willing to make great
sacrifices for their mates. she lneh'loAed
a case which had come under her ODD
servation where one Of a Gagged pair had
managed TO make her escape mo INC
omen air. The owner of the birds, having
ohssryed the attachment between theih'
hung the cage, with the deserted one III
IT, at the open window. HIS calls Ieaclcu
his runaway mate and soon Ieislaueu
her 10 forsake tho attractions OF t-S
summer woods and return TO snare las
prison. Grief at the death OF thelr mates
is nearly always shown by BIRDS ana sumo
species mourn for what might seem an
incredible length Of time. They frequent
Is return 10 the old h@unts, nylns ABOUT
and calling as II they hoped TO De ap'e
10 find the lost one again. Another IN
stance of the affection between them IS
the attention almost invariably SHOWN Dy
the male 70 The female While the latter
Is Matching the young brood. He brings
her food, sings 10 her, and often shares
the task Of sitting on the eggs, thereby
giving her an opportunity for rest
Mrs. Mller's opinion OF the monogamy
OF birds is singularly illustrated and
confirmed in q decision in my Lord Coke 5
Reports. "a Elizabeth, known as THE case
or the swans"
In that case a suit was brought TO set
tie the right TO 40 swans ami 80 cysneis'
which haunted certain stream In the
county Of Dorset. in ana near the parish
OF Abbotsbury, which premises the alb
bot had surrendered to King Henry the
| Eighth, who afterwards granted them 10
the ancestor Of the defendant in the suit.
The law of swans was deeply probed by
the learned judge. ana lie laid down.
among other things. that all white swans
not marked having gained their natural
liberty might be seized to tho Kings use,
the swan being Il royal fowl, as whales
and surgeons are royal FISH, and belong
to the King by his prercgatiye.
THAT a swan may be an estray and so
cannot any other fowl. as l have read
In any book" TO illustrate this he
cited a case from "a Reports 10 this effect;
Sc. The Lord Strange and Sir John
! Charlton brought an action OF ucspass
| against three, because the defendants had
| taken and carried away forty cygnets OF
the plaintiffs III the county OF Bucks, "a
his damages so. one Of the defendants
pleaded that II any swan comes OF
the land OF any man and there builds, anl
hath cygnets on the same land, that ther
he who hath the property OF the swans
shall have two OF the cygnets, and he
who hath the land shall have the thirc
cygnet, which shall be of less value that
the other two; and that was adjudgec
a good custom, because the p0ssessor oil
the land suffers them TO build there
where he may drive them or. And bl
the Judgment it also appears that a MAJ
may allege "a custom or prescribe II
swans or cygnets. And in the same cas-
II is said that the truth OF the matte
was that Lord Strange had certain swan
that were cocks, and Sir John Charlton
certain swans that were hens. and tina
they had cygrets between them. and 10
these cygnets the owners did join IN on
acton, for in such case the cygnets d
belong 10 both the owners equally-vz., L
tho owner Of the cock and the owner o
the hen: and the cygnets shall be I'll
Vided equally between them.
And the law thereof IS founded on
reason IN nature: for the swan is a
emblem or representation OF an affection
ate and true husband 10 his wife abOv
all other fowls: for tho cock swan holdei
himself to one female only, and for thi
nature haiti conferred on him a Gift bt
.. yond all others; that Is TO die so JOYFUL
that he sings sweetly when ne dies, upO
which the poet saith.
: "Dulcia defecta incubator carnina longu
cantator cysnus funeris ipse sin, etc.
"And, therefore. this case Of the swa
doth differ from the case Of kline or Othc
brute beast"
Quaint enough If Mrs. Miller has NJ
p already had her attention drawn to tn
case. it will interest her 10 know IN;
: virtues Of the swan husband have bee
r approved moro than once by high tudici
authority.