A pair of white swans

Upstream of Peacock Lake, there is a dense reed bush. Every autumn, a flock of short-billed swans flies from the north to spend the winter. Short-billed Swans, also known as Lesser Swans, are smaller in size than the Greater Swans and Mute Swans. Their whole body is white, beak orange-red, and looks elegant and noble. This group of short-billed swans, about forty to fifty, live in the reeds of the upper Peacock Lake for about four months, and the next spring, they fly back to the north to breed offspring.

One morning in March, I paddled my canoe to the reeds to fish for turtles. When the sun came out, I heard a loud and clear cry from deep in the reeds, like a whistle blowing in a military camp, and the reed stalks shook, the wings vibrated, and a flock of short-billed swans flew up. Oh, it's already peachy spring, and the short-billed swans are moving to the north according to the instructions of their biological clocks. Farewell, beautiful swans! I watched the swans go away and started to put the hooks in the row when suddenly, a white line was pulled up in a reed not far from me, and another short-billed swan flew up, flying in the reed tops, with a short scream in its mouth. I know that swans are a kind of bird with a strong sense of community, and individuals will not stay in the same place after the group has moved unless there is a very special reason. Out of curiosity, I carefully use the reeds with the Penny plucked, look, on a small desert island, there is a long black verrucous crown on top of the male swan standing on the grass looking up at the sky, flying against the reeds of the swan beak base is purple-red, neck than standing on the grass of the male swan a little shorter, a look at it is a female swan. A female swan in the sky anxiously chirping is urging the male swan on the grass to take off quickly, the male swan set up to take off, but it has not been able to fly away from the ground, its left wing does not know whether it fell or was bitten by wild animals, the scapula with blood, a large feather is stained red, has not been able to move, only the right wing in the desperate flap, the body like a gyroscope in place rotation.

There is no doubt that this is a couple, the male swan was wounded, and can not fly back to the north with the group.

The female swan slowly shakes wings gliding down, a beautiful posture, stopping next to the male swan, with a flat broad beak gently pecking the male swan that stiff wings as if to encourage the male swan not to be discouraged, but also seems to be for the male swan to heal the injury. Its soft neck bent into a circle, the male swan that droops on the ground to help the wings on the back to restore the normal shape, and then, with hope, waiting for the male swan to fly up.

Unfortunately, the male swan was very badly injured, and after a few efforts, but still failed to fly up. It yowled sadly, bowed its neck, and hid its body in the grass.

Short-billed swans to implement monogamous marriage form are very loyal to love birds, a female, and a male to form a mate, inseparable, lifelong. But the swans have a strict timetable for migration, flying back to the north, immediately after the eggs hold the nest, the delay will not be able to feed the chicks strong enough before the arrival of the autumn wind, and the chicks will be difficult to withstand the long flight to the south in the fall. If the female swan accompanied by the injured male swan to stay here, fulfilled the love, but against the laws of survival of the species, the southern spring, and summer, mosquitoes, and flies, snakes, and insects, rampant beasts, the climate are too hot, to the rainy season and heavy rain, unsuitable for the swan life, not only can not reproduce offspring, whether they can live is also a problem. If it follows the group to move to the north, it follows the survival laws of the species but betrayed the sacred love and the swan's faithful character.

The female swan kept looking to the northern sky, the north return of the swan group has become the sky with some small black dots, soon, these small black dots disappear at the end of the sky a pale cloud layer. It can't help but open the wings to make a kind of want to take off to catch up with the team posture, but suddenly, it seems to be subject to another kind of emotional constraint, turning his head to look at the male swans around him, the look of sorrow slowly converges on the wings.

It is difficult for the female swan to stay or go.

A pair of swans silently squatted on the grass of the island. After a while, the male swan stood up and kept pushing the female swan with his body, the female swan gave up two steps to the side, and the male swan squeezed over again and continued to hit the female swan with his breast, insisting on driving the female swan away from him.

The male swan's intention is obvious, is to let the female swan not delay the return of time for him, is to make the female swan quickly catch up with the swan flock that has flown away.

The female swan tilted her neck and kept making soft cries, and rubbed the back of the male swan with her neck over and over again, as if she was confessing her feelings to the male swan: you can't fly, I won't leave you alone and fly to the north by myself, I will accompany you.

The male swan cries roughly, his neck bounces, and his flat, broad beak pecks the female swan, just like fighting an enemy. The female swan cried out in aggression and flew away to the end of the island. The male swan went after her and continued to peck and bite. The female swan was forced to flap her wings and rose to the sky, flying north. The male swan watched the female swan with a fond expression of reluctance.

The female swan had almost reached the towering peak of Brown Mountain in the north, suddenly, she turned a corner, the blue sky crossed a white arc, and flew back to the reeds, hovering down from a high altitude, flying side to side with a loud and clear call, the scene, as if to the male swan below to reveal his heart: I know, you need me now more than ever, I'm here. We live and die together forever!

The expression on the male swan's face changed dramatically, surprise, blush (nǎn), relief, anxiety, he turned his head to look at his badly injured wings, suddenly jumped into the lake, partial face, last lingering look towards the female swan in the sky, his head snapped into the water, probably deep into the mud, he never lifted his head again, a pair of almond-yellow webbed palms and snow-white tail feathers slowly warped to the sky.

The male swan knew that as long as he was still alive, the female swan would not follow the swan flock back to the north, he wanted to die to break the idea of the female swan staying in the south. What a generous and loving male swan ah.

Almost at the same time, the female swan is circling and descending to the island's only black heart tree to fly, its left wing hit a branch as if cut by a sharp knife, and its left-wing immediately will not move, it screamed, relying on a right-wing fan shake, almost straight down, fortunately, the island grass is soft and thick, it fell a heel, the rest of the body did not suffer any Fortunately, the island grass is soft and thick, it fell a heel, other parts of the body did not suffer any injury, stand up, neck straight up, neck look around the four directions, "yo-yo" cries, swaying to find the male swan. It finally saw the male swan soaking in the water, it swam over, the beak caught the male swan's tail feathers, the male swan pulled out of the mud, with his neck will be the male swan's neck from the water up, cross neck grinding, yo yo yo, one side of the yo yo yo side also put the wounded hanging in the water was blood-soaked red left-wing tilt over, obviously, it is to show the male swan, one of its wings was also injured, it also Can not fly to the north.

Unfortunately, the male swan can never open his eyes.