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 Mute Swans (Cygnus olor)
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6-7 living, see text. The Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is a Eurasian member of the Duck, Goose and Swan family Anatidae. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living Species of Birds in three extant families the Anhimidae (the screamers Anseranatidae The Anserinae is a Subfamily in the Waterfowl family Anatidae. Johann Matthäus Bechstein ( July 11, 1757 - February 23, 1822) was a German Naturalist, Forester, Ornithologist 1803 ( MDCCCIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. |
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Cygnanser Kretzoi, 1957 |
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. In Biological classification, family ( Latin Goose (plural geese) is the English name for a considerable number of Birds belonging to the family Anatidae. For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Anserinae is a Subfamily in the Waterfowl family Anatidae. In Biology, a tribe &mdashor infrafamily&mdashis a Taxonomic rank between family and Genus. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. Swans usually mate for life, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight.
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Etymology and terminology
The word "swan" is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing), whence Latin derives sonus (sound). (Webster's New World Dictionary) Young swans are known as cygnets, from the Latin word for swan, cygnus. An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen (origin unknown).
Colouration
The Northern Hemisphere species of swan have pure white plumage but the Southern Hemisphere species are mixed black and white. Northern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is North of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' The Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings, and the South American Black-necked Swan has a black neck. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Black Swan ( Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The Black-necked Swan, Cygnus melanocoryphus is the largest Waterfowl native to South America.
The legs of swans are dark blackish grey, except for the two South American species, which have pink legs. Bill colour varies: the four subarctic species have black bills with varying amounts of yellow, and all the others are patterned red and black. The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada and The Mute Swan and Black-necked Swan have a lump at the base of the bill on the upper mandible.
Systematics and evolution
All evidence suggests that the genus Cygnus evolved in Europe or western Eurasia during the Miocene, spreading all over the Northern Hemisphere until the Pliocene. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts is the period in the Geologic timescale that extends When the southern species branched off is not known. The Mute Swan apparently is closest to the Southern Hemisphere Cygnus; its habits of carrying the neck curved (not straight) and the wings fluffed (not flush) as well as its bill color and knob indicate that its closest living relative is actually the Black Swan. Given the biogeography and appearance of the subgenus Olor it seems likely that these are of a more recent origin, as evidence shows by their modern ranges (which were mostly uninhabitable during the last ice age) and great similarity between the taxa. Biogeography is the study of the distribution of Biodiversity over Space and Time. In Biology, a subgenus is a Taxonomic rank directly below Genus. "Last glacial" redirects here For the period of maximum glacier extent during this time see Last Glacial Maximum The last glacial period
Genus Cygnus
- Subgenus Cygnus
- Mute Swan, Cygnus olor, is a circumboreal species that flies with Cygnus Cygnus, the Whooper Swan; Cygnus Bewickii and Cygnus Columbianus (now co-mingled as Tundra Swan) across northern Europe into Russia/Siberia and the Russian Maritimes. The Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is a Eurasian member of the Duck, Goose and Swan family Anatidae. It has been documented (The Trumpeter Swan Society) as migrating from Russia onto the American continent, as have both Tundra species and the Whooper. Recent fossil records, according to the British Ornithological Union, show Cygnus olor is among the oldest bird species still extant and it has been upgraded to "native" species in several European countries, since this bird has been found in fossil and bog specimens dating back thousands of years. Common temperate Eurasian species, often semi-domesticated; descendants of domestic flocks are naturalized in the United States and elsewhere.
- Subgenus Chenopis
- Black Swan, Cygnus atratus of Australia, and introduced in New Zealand. The Black Swan ( Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island
- New Zealand Swan, Cygnus (atratus) sumnerensis, an extinct subspecies of the Black Swan from New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. The New Zealand Swan ( Cygnus atratus sumnerensis) is an Extinct Swan from the Chatham Islands and the South Island of New In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. The Archipelago of the Chatham Islands ( Rekohu in the Moriori language and Wharekauri in the Māori language) is a territory
- Black Swan, Cygnus atratus of Australia, and introduced in New Zealand. The Black Swan ( Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island
- Subgenus Sthenelides
- Black-necked Swan, Cygnus melancoryphus of South America. The Black-necked Swan, Cygnus melanocoryphus is the largest Waterfowl native to South America.
- Subgenus Olor
- Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus breeds in Iceland and subarctic Europe and Asia, migrating to temperate Europe and Asia in winter. The Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus) is a large Northern Hemisphere Swan. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (
- Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator is the largest North American bird. The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird if measured in terms of weight and length and is (on average the largest waterfowl species Very similar to the Whooper Swan (and sometimes treated as a subspecies of it), it was hunted almost to extinction but has since recovered. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa.
- Whistling Swan, Cygnus columbianus is a small swan which breeds on the North American tundra, further north than other swans. The Tundra Swan ( Cygnus columbianus) is a small Holarctic Swan. It winters in the USA. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
- Bewick's Swan, Cygnus (columbianus) bewickii is the Eurasian form which migrates from Arctic Russia to western Europe and eastern Asia (China, Japan) in winter. The Tundra Swan ( Cygnus columbianus) is a small Holarctic Swan. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. It is often considered a subspecies of C. columbianus, creating the species Tundra Swan. The Tundra Swan ( Cygnus columbianus) is a small Holarctic Swan.
The fossil record of the genus Cygnus is quite impressive, although allocation to the subgenera is often tentative; as indicated above, at least the early forms probably belong to the C. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. olor - Southern Hemisphere lineage, whereas the Pleistocene taxa from North America would be placed in Olor. A number of prehistoric species have been described, mostly from the Northern Hemisphere. Among them was the giant Siculo-Maltese C. falconeri which was taller (though not heavier) than the contemporary local dwarf elephants (Elephas falconeri). Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands Cygnus falconeri, the Giant Swan, was a very large Siculo - Maltese Swan known from the Middle Pleistocene. Elephas falconeri is an extinct Siculo - Maltese species of elephant closely related to the modern Asian elephant.
Fossil Swans
- Cygnus csakvarensis (Late Miocene of Hungary) - formerly Cygnanser
- Cygnus mariae (Early Pliocene of Wickieup, USA)
- Cygnus verae (Early Pliocene of Sofia, Bulgaria)
- Cygnus liskunae (Middle Pliocene of W Mongolia)
- Cygnus hibbardi (?Early Pleistocene of Idaho, USA)
- Cygnus sp. The Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is a Eurasian member of the Duck, Goose and Swan family Anatidae. (Early Pleistocene of Dursunlu, Turkey: Louchart et al. 1998)
- Giant Swan, Cygnus falconeri (Middle Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)
- Cygnus paloregonus (Middle Pleistocene of WC USA) - includes "Anser" condoni and C. Cygnus falconeri, the Giant Swan, was a very large Siculo - Maltese Swan known from the Middle Pleistocene. matthewi
- Cygnus equitum (Middle - Late Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)
- Cygnus lacustris (Late Pleistocene of Lake Eyre region, Australia) - formerly Archaeocygnus
- Cygnus sp. (Pleistocene of Australia)
The supposed fossil swans "Cygnus" bilinicus and "Cygnus" herrenthalsi were, respectively, a stork and some large bird of unknown affinity (due to the bad state of preservation of the referred material). Storks are large long-legged long-necked wading Birds with long stout bills, belonging to the family Ciconiidae. Anser atavus is sometimes placed in Cygnus.
The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) from South America, the only species of its genus, is apparently not a true swan. The Coscoroba Swan, Coscoroba coscoroba is the smallest Species of Swan. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Its phylogenetic position is not fully resolved; it is in some aspects more similar to geese and shelducks. Goose (plural geese) is the English name for a considerable number of Birds belonging to the family Anatidae. The Shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family
Role in culture
- See also: Black Swan emblems and popular culture
Many of the cultural aspects refer to the Mute Swan of Europe. Perhaps the best known story about a swan is The Ugly Duckling fable. The Ugly Duckling (Danish Den grimme Ælling) is a Fairy tale by Danish Poet and Author Hans Christian Andersen The story centers around a duckling who is mistreated until it becomes evident he is a swan and is accepted into the habitat. He was mistreated because real ducklings are, according to many, more attractive than a cygnet, yet cygnets become swans, which are very attractive creatures. Swans are often a symbol of love or fidelity because of their long-lasting monogamous relationships. See the famous swan-related operas Lohengrin and Parsifal. Lohengrin is a romantic Opera (or music drama in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner. Parsifal is an Opera, or Music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner. In the Irish legend The Wooing of Etain, the king of the Sidhe (subterranean-dwelling, supernatural beings) transforms himself and the most beautiful woman in Ireland, Etain, into swans to escape from the king of Ireland and Ireland's armies. Tochmarc Étaíne ( Old Irish: "The Wooing of Étaín " is an early text of the Irish Mythological Cycle, and also features
In England swans are protected from poaching by law since they are considered property of the Crown.
Swan maidens, shapeshifters who are able to transform from human to swan and vice versa, are a worldwide motif in folklore. Swan Maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form Shapeshifting is a common theme in Mythology and Folklore, as well as in Science fiction and Fantasy. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological The typical tale is of a swan maiden who is temporarily robbed of her powers and forced to marry a human man.
Swans feature strongly in mythology. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" In Greek mythology, the story of Leda and the Swan recounts that Helen of Troy was conceived in a union of Zeus disguised as a swan and Leda, Queen of Sparta. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Leda and the Swan is a motif from Greek mythology, in which Zeus came to Leda in the form of a Swan. This article is about the mythological figure Helen of Troy For other uses see Helen (disambiguation and Helen of Troy (disambiguation. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Leda ( Λήδα) was daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius, and wife of the king Tyndareus, of Sparta The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Other references in classical literature include the belief that upon death the otherwise silent Mute Swan would sing beautifully - hence the phrase swan song; as well as Juvenal's sarcastic reference to a good woman being a "rare bird, as rare on earth as a black swan," from which we get the Latin phrase rara avis, rare bird. The phrase " swan song " is a reference to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is completely mute during its lifetime until the moment just Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, known in English as Juvenal, was a Roman Poet active in the late 1st and early 2nd century AD author of the
The Irish legend of the Children of Lir is about a stepmother transforming her children into swans for 900 years. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Out with you upon the wild waves Children of the King! Henceforth your cries shall be with the flocks of birds
The swan has recently been depicted on an Irish commemorative coin. This article covers euro Gold and Silver commemorative coins issued by the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland.
In Norse mythology, there are two swans that drink from the sacred Well of Urd in the realm of Asgard, home of the gods. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Wyrd is a concept in Old English and Old Norse culture roughly corresponding to fate or Karma. This article is about the realm of Norse Mythology For other uses of the names Asgard, Asgaard and Asgård, see Asgard (disambiguation In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal According to the Prose Edda, the water of this well is so pure and holy that all things that touch it turn white, including this original pair of swans and all others descended from them. The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda ( Snorra Edda) or simply Edda, is an The poem Volundarkvida, or the Lay of Volund, part of the Poetic Edda, also features swan maidens. Völundarkviða ( Völundr's poem, the name can be anglicized as Völundarkvitha, Völundarkvidha, Völundarkvida, The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval Manuscript Codex Regius.
In the Russian fable, „Гуси — лебеди“, the swan is a servant of an evil witch who helps her by bringing her children.
In the Finnish epic Kalevala, a swan lives in the Tuoni river located in Tuonela, the underworld realm of the dead. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian Folklore in the nineteenth For the album by the band Amorphis, see Tuonela (album. Tuonela is the realm of the dead or the Underworld in According to the story, whoever killed a swan would perish as well. Jean Sibelius composed the Lemminkäinen Suite based on Kalevala, with the second piece entitled Swan of Tuonela (Tuonelan joutsen). The Lemminkäinen Suite (also called the Four Legends, or Four Legends from the Kalevala) is a work written by the Finnish The Swan of Tuonela (Tuonelan joutsen is an 1895 Tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Today, five flying swans are the symbol of the Nordic Countries and the whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) is the national bird of Finland. The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe called the Nordic region, consisting of Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
In Latin American literature, the Nicaraguan poet Ruben Darío (1867-1916) consecrated the swan as a symbol of artistic inspiration by drawing attention to the constancy of swan imagery in Western culture, beginning with the rape of Leda and ending with Wagner's Lohengrin. Latin American literature rose to particular prominence during the second half of the 20th century largely thanks to the international success of the style known as Magical realism Nicaragua (ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə officially the Republic of Nicaragua () is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America Félix Rubén García Sarmiento also known as Rubén Darío (Metapa January 18, 1867 &ndash Leon February 6, 1916) was a Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin Darío's most famous poem in this regard is Blasón - "Coat of Arms" (1896), and his use of the swan made it a symbol for the Modernismo poetic movement that dominated Spanish language poetry from the 1880s until the First World War. Modernismo is Spanish and Portuguese for Modernism, however the term Modernismo also indicates a more specific art movement World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Such was the dominance of Modernismo in Spanish language poetry that the Mexican poet Enrique González Martínez attempted to announce the end of Modernismo with a sonnet provocatively entitled, Tuércele el cuello al cisne - "Wring the Swan's Neck" (1910). The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Enrique González Martínez ( April 13, 1871 in Guadalajara Jalisco – 1952 in Mexico City) was a Mexican Poet and The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe.
Swans are revered in many religions and cultures, especially Hinduism. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit word for swan is hamsa or hansa, and it is the vehicle of many deities like the goddess Saraswati. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Saraswati (pronounced as; Sanskrit: sa सरस्वती sarasvatī; Malay: Saraswati Thai: สุรัสวดี is the It is mentioned several times in the Vedic literature, and persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities are sometimes called Paramahamsa ("Great Swan") on account of their spiritual grace and ability to travel between various spiritual worlds. "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. Paramahamsa (परमहंस (also spelt paramahansa or paramhansa) is a Sanskrit religio-theological Title of honor applied to In Christianity, divine Grace refers to the sovereign favour of God for humankind — especially in regard to Salvation — irrespective of actions In the Vedas, swans are said to reside in the summer on Lake Manasarovar and migrate to Indian lakes for the winter, eat pearls, and separate milk from water in a mixture of both. Lake Manasarovar or Lake Manasa Sarovar Hindi: मानसरोवर झील Tibetan: མ་ཕམ་གཡུ་མཚོ། Mapham Yutso India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Hindu iconography typically shows the Mute Swan. Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images It is wrongly supposed by many historians that the word hamsa only refers to a goose, since today swans are no longer found in India, not even in most zoos. However, ornithological checklists clearly classify several species of swans as vagrant birds in India. Ornithology (from Greek ὄρνις ὄρνιθος ornis, ornithos, "bird" and λόγος logos, "knowledge" is the branch of See also Vagrancy (people for an alternative use of the term Vagrancy is a phenomenon in Biology whereby individual animals appear well
One Chinese idiom about swans is how "a toad wants to eat swan flesh!". This idiom is used derisively on men who desire women who are beyond their station in terms of wealth, social class or beauty.
The Black Swan is the faunal emblem of the Australian state of Western Australia and swans are featured on the coat of arms of Canberra, the Australian capital. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. The Coat of Arms of the Canberra was created by the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs and Territories in 1927 in response to a request by the Commonwealth Department of Defence
Swans play a role in LucasArts' graphic adventure computer game Loom. LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is an American Video game developer and publisher. Loom is a graphical Adventure game originally released in 1990 In the game, swans are shown to be what becomes of members of the Guild of Weavers who are either banished or die. They transcend to a higher plane of existence and become swans. The main character Bobbin's mother was also named Cygna, which is a variation of the word cygnus.
Today swans are used symbolically or as brands. The Sydney Swans AFL Team uses a swan as its club emblem/mascot, and Swansea City A.F.C.'s mascot is a swan called Cyril the Swan. The Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Australian Football League (AFL is both the professional Australian national competition in the Sport of Australian Rules Football and its highest Swansea City AFC ( Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh football team playing in the Coca Cola Championship from Cyril the Swan is a fictional giant Swan, the official Mascot of Swansea City Association Football Club. Swan is also the name of a character in the film "The Warriors. "
"The Bonny Swans" is a song from Loreena McKennitt's 1994 album The Mask and Mirror. Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt CM (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer composer harpist and pianist most famous for writing recording The Mask and Mirror is an album by Loreena McKennitt released in 1994
In the philosophy of science, the discovery of the black swan after centuries of only observing white swans, is often used as an example of the problem of induction. Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions foundations and implications of Science. The problem of induction is the philosophical question of whether inductive reasoning is valid
References
- Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA 327(5): 341-346. Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, or simply Comptes rendus, is a French scientific journal which has been published since 1835 [French with English abridged version] doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0 (HTML abstract)
External links
- Swan videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- The Swan Sanctuary Shepperton,England
- Swan photos
Dictionary
swan
-noun
- (plural also 'swan') Any of various species of large, long-necked waterfowl, of genus Cygnus, most of which have white plumage.
- (figuratively) one whose grace etc. suggests a swan
-verb
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