42 THE MUTE SWAN.
The first occurrence of this species, of which I have a record,
was near Peshawer, in 1857, when a small flock were seen, and
one shot and placed in the Peshawer Museum, whence it was
sent to me by Sir F. Pollock in, I think, 1867.
This Swan was shot by W. Mahomed Oomer Khan, who
wrote to me about it as follows :—
" I n the month of January 1857, I shot this Swan in the
Peshawer District on the Shah Alum River, about a mile and a
half on this side of the Kabul River. Neither before nor after have
I seen other Swans, but a few years after I killed it, I heard
from the shikaris of Hashtnagar (also in the Peshawer District)
that they had recently seen five of these birds in the
Agra (?) village lake, in this same district, but had failed to shoot
any."
The specimen had been so entirely ruined by exposure and
insects that I could not, at the time, decide positively to which
species it belonged, but from what remains of the bill and head
I have since satisfied myself that it was C. olor.
In 1871 Captain Unwin, of the 5th Goorkhas, sent me the
skins of a pair of young Swans of this species with the following
extract from his diary, under date 17th January 1871 :—
" To-day, while Duck-shooting on the Jubbee Stream, on the
border of the Hazara and Rawal Pindi Districts, during a
short halt for breakfast on the banks of the nullah, I was
attracted by seeing two large white birds flying over the stream
some 2 5 0 yards lower down. The Jubbee has here a wide
stony bed, with a small stream in the centre, forming occasional
pools, in one of which the birds seemed inclined to alight.
Changing their intention, however, they came flying up, and
passed me at a distance of about 60 yards ; to my surprise and
delight I recognised in them most undoubted wild Swans. Firing
with loose shot at that distance was useless, so I watched in the
hope that they would settle in some of the pools higher up the
stream, and thereby afford a stalk, but they continued their
slow, heavy, flight until I lost sight of them in the distance.
" Concluding that they would not stop until they reached the
Indus, some 2 0 miles off, I was returning to my breakfast, a
sadder and a wiser man, when, in taking a last look in their
direction, I saw them returning. I hastily got into the centre
of the nullah, in their line of flight, and as they rose slightly, to
avoid me, fired both barrels, No. 3 shot, at the leader. She
(for it proved to be the female) staggered, but went on, slowly
sinking, till she settled in a large pool, about 400 yards off,
accompanied by her mate, which alighted close beside her.
" The pool, being commanded by a high bank, offered an
easy stalk, and getting round into a favorable position, I
found the Swans within 20 yards of me. A crowd of Gadwall
( C. strtperus), which was close by, took flight on seeing me, but
the male Swan stuck nobly by his mate, and paid dearly for his
THE MUTE SWAN. 43
fidelity, and shortly I had the satisfaction of landing them both.
" The villagers who collected to see the birds gave the local
name as "penr" (pronounced with a nasal n), and told me
that the birds came there occasionally oncein every three or
fours years."
I may here notice that in other parts of Upper India this
name "penr" is usually applied to Pelicans.
In the cold weather of 1871-72, Dr. Stoliczka, when in Cutch,
thought he saw Swans there. He says, J. A. S., B., 1872, 229 :—
" While crossing the Runn from Kachh to Pachain early in
November (1871), I noticed several Swans, but at too great a
distance for it to be possible to form an idea as to the species
the birds belonged to."
Until recently I had always considered (S. F., IV., 33) that
Stoliczka, being very short-sighted, had mistaken Pelicans
(the white P. crispus abounds there) for Swans ; but the recent
occurrence of Swans in Sind renders it not improbable that
Stoliczka was right after all, and if so they would almost certainly
have belonged to the present species.
Between 1872 and 1876 I received notices of Swans being
killed on three occasions, on the Swat and Kabul Rivers, in the
Peshawer District and in Kohat near one of our salt mines, in
November, January and February. In one case a pair, in
another three, and in the last case five, were seen, one being
shot in each case, but none preserved. All would seem, from
what was noted of the tails and colours of the bill, to have been
olor.
During the cold season of 1877-78 Swans were numerous in
the far North-West. One was killed near Attock on the 17th
of January by Lt. Hill, of the Rifle Brigade, and I heard of
two others being killed in the Peshawer District in February,
and of many others being seen.
On the 12th of February, Mr. H. E. Watson killed three
Swans in the Sehwan District in Sind.
He first saw birds of this species in January, at the Manchhar
Lake, and later saw five, and actually procured three, in a small
broad in the same district. He writes :—
" I shot three Swans this morning. As far as I can judge
they are identical with the English species" (that is the tame
Swan); "there were five on a small 'dhaud' or tank, about half
a mile or less in length by a quarter of a mile or less in breadth.
I went to shoot Ducks, but seeing these large white birds, I went
after them and recognized them to be the same as those I had
seen on the Manchhar. They let a boat get pretty close and
I shot one. The other four flew round the tank a few times
and then settled on it again. I went up in the boat and fired
again, but without effect. They flew round and then settled
again. The third time I shot another ; the three remaining
again flew round and settled, and the fourth time I fired I did