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Swans
Nature Bulletin No. 616 November 5, 1960
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Daniel Ryan, President
Roberts Mann, Conservation Editor
David H. Thompson, Senior Naturalist
SWANS
Since ancient times and in many countries the swan has been a symbol
of gracefulness and a favorite motif for music, art, literature and
legends In Greek mythology, Zeus in the form of a swan courted Leda
and fathered Apollo. One of Wagner's operas is woven around the old
German story of Lohengrin, the knight of the swan "Swan Lake" is the
famous ballet by Tschaikovsky.
Those huge birds that float like great white flowers on park lagoons are
Mute Swans, a half-domesticated European waterfowl brought to this
country for ornamental purposes. This is the only kind most of us ever
see. However, this is the season -- early November -- when the native
Whistling Swan on its southward migration occasionally stops over in
the Chicago region. Small numbers are seen every year or two on
McGinnis Slough Twice in recent years bird watchers by the dozens
had the opportunity to observe large flocks, day after day.
The largest waterfowl in the world are swans. Their extremely long
snaky necks allow them to reach deep down and feed on the roots and
stems of underwater plants or to be hoisted high like periscopes to spy
over the country. The male swan is called a "cob" and the female a
"pen" The old Latin word for swan is "cygnus", so the young are
"cygnets".
The two North American species and the exotic mute are white when
adult and have similar habits. The male and female mate for life. The
nest is a hollow in the top of a large mound of water weeds which they
pile up in or near water. The large eggs, commonly 4 to 8 in number,
hatch after five weeks of incubation by the pen. The cob stands guard,
driving away intruders and all other swans except his mate. Like
ducklings and goslings, cygnets take to the water immediately after
hatching. Gray at first, the young do not turn white until their second
year.
The mute swan is not mute. It hisses, grunts, and barks. Unlike our
native swans it has a black knob on the upper bill In olden times a
young swan was a table delicacy and, in England, all swans have
belonged to the crown since 1482. In a special ceremony each year the
swans on the Thames River are rounded up, their wings clipped. and
their bills marked with the royal brand. At nesting time the mute swan
cob is especially dangerous. Children and dogs coming near the nest are
often badly beaten or dragged into the water and drowned. A blow from
his powerful wing has been known to break a man's leg. In America
some have escaped and now breed by the hundreds in the wild.
The whistling swan's voice is not so much a whistle as it is like soft
musical laughter varied with long whoops and clucking sounds. They
nest by the thousands around small lakes and on islands far north of the
Arctic Circle. In summer after the adults have molted their flight
feathers there is a period when they cannot fly. Then Eskimos chase and
spear them from canoes and kayaks. In autumn they gather into large
flocks, head into the wind, and laboriously take off on their long trip to
the south Atlantic coast. Once airborne, they travel at high speeds, often
above the clouds. Sometimes a flock lights in the rapids above Niagara
Falls and are swept to their death before they can take wing.
The Trumpeter Swan is much like the whistler but larger, weighing up
to 35 or 40 pounds. This great bird faced extinction in the 1920's
because it had been slaughtered for its down and breast feathers, as well
as for sport Through complete protection against hunting, and
establishment of refuges in both Canada and the United States, its
numbers are increasing.
Let's all sing: "Half swan. half goose. Alexander was a swoose "
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Update: June 2012
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