Whence arises the classical fable
that swans sing their own dirge just previous to death, and expire singing
it? The wild swan certainly may be said to whistle, but the tame has no
other note than a hiss, and this only when provoked. The Kamschatdales and
Kuriles wear round their necks the bills of _Puffins_, as an amulet which
ensures good fortune. Who was _Mother Carey_?--The wife, perhaps, of
"_Davy_," and keeper of his "locker;" Mother Carey's chickens is the
well-known appellation, in _tarrish_ tongue, of _Stormy Petrels_, not
superstitiously supposed to forebode tempests, since they seem their very
element; but it is probable that to Mother Carey herself (we crave her
pardon--_Mistress_) some astounding "yarn" is attached. The _Stork_, the
_Crane_, and the _Pelican_, are each the subject of idle stories; the
latter has been asserted to feed her young with her own bosom's blood, and
to fill her pouch with water in order to supply them in the desert. A
notion is entertained by the ignorant that the _Bittern_ thrusts its bill
into a reed, which serves as a pipe to increase the volume of its natural
note, and swell it above pitch; and in some places a tradition prevails
that it thrusts its head into water and then blows with all its might.
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