Swan 50952 226036612 2008-07-16T15:25:14Z Jimfbleak 7872 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/217.43.21.249|217.43.21.249]] ([[User talk:217.43.21.249|talk]]) to last version by Jimfbleak {{otheruses}} {{Taxobox | name = Swans | image = SwansCygnus olor.jpg | image_width = 256px | image_caption = [[Mute Swan]]s (''Cygnus olor'') | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[Anseriformes]] | familia = [[Anatidae]] | subfamilia = [[Anserinae]] | genus = '''''Cygnus''''' | genus_authority = [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein|Bechstein]], [[1803]] | subdivision_ranks = [[Species]] | subdivision = 6-7 living, see text. | synonyms = ''Cygnanser'' <small>Kretzoi, [[1957]]</small> }} '''Swans''' are [[bird]]s of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Anatidae]], which also includes [[goose|geese]] and [[duck]]s. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the [[subfamily]] [[Anserinae]] where they form the [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] '''Cygnini'''. 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 [[:wikt:clutch|clutch]] ranges from three to eight. ==Etymology and terminology== The word "swan" is derived from Old English ''[[:wikt:swan|swan]]'', akin to the German ''Schwan'' and Dutch ''zwaan'', in turn derived from Indo-European root ''*swen'' (to sound, to sing), whence Latin derives ''sonis'' (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 ''[[:wikt:cobbe|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. The [[Australia]]n [[Black Swan]] (''Cygnus atratus'') is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings, and the [[South America]]n [[Black-necked Swan]] has a black neck. 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 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]]. 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. '''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. 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. [[Image:Black Swan and Cygnet.jpg|250px|right|thumb|''Cygnus atratus'' and cygnet.]] * Subgenus ''Chenopis'' **[[Black Swan]], ''Cygnus atratus'' of [[Australia]], and introduced in [[New Zealand]]. ***[[New Zealand Swan]], ''Cygnus (atratus) sumnerensis'', an [[extinct]] [[subspecies]] of the Black Swan from New Zealand and the [[Chatham Islands]]. * Subgenus ''Sthenelides'' **[[Black-necked Swan]], ''Cygnus melancoryphus'' of South America. * Subgenus ''Olor'' **[[Whooper Swan]], ''Cygnus cygnus'' breeds in [[Iceland]] and subarctic [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], migrating to temperate Europe and Asia in winter. **[[Trumpeter Swan]], ''Cygnus buccinator'' is the largest [[North America]]n bird. Very similar to the Whooper Swan (and sometimes treated as a subspecies of it), it was hunted almost to [[extinction]] but has since recovered. **[[Whistling Swan]], ''Cygnus columbianus'' is a small swan which breeds on the [[North America]]n tundra, further north than other swans. It winters in the [[USA]]. ***[[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. It is often considered a subspecies of ''C. columbianus'', creating the species [[Tundra 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. 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 [[Sicily|Siculo]]-[[Malta|Maltese]] ''[[Cygnus falconeri|C. falconeri]]'' which was taller (though not heavier) than the contemporary local dwarf elephants (''[[Elephas falconeri]]''). [[Image:Swan with nine cygnets 3.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Mute Swan]] (''Cygnus olor'') with nine cygnets]] [[Image:Swan eating grass.jpg|250px|thumb|Swan eating grass]] [[Image:Swan grooming plumage.jpg|250px|thumb|Swan grooming itself]] '''Fossil Swans''' *''Cygnus csakvarensis'' (Late Miocene of Hungary) - formerly ''Cygnanser''<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 --> *''Cygnus mariae'' (Early Pliocene of Wickieup, USA)<!-- Condor45:120? JSystPaleontol5:1. --> *''Cygnus verae'' (Early Pliocene of Sofia, Bulgaria) *''Cygnus liskunae'' (Middle Pliocene of W Mongolia) *''Cygnus hibbardi'' (?Early Pleistocene of Idaho, USA)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 --> *''Cygnus'' sp. (Early Pleistocene of Dursunlu, Turkey: Louchart ''et al.'' 1998) *[[Giant Swan]], ''Cygnus falconeri'' (Middle Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Ardeola51:91; Palaeontology31:725 --> *''Cygnus paloregonus'' (Middle Pleistocene of WC USA) - includes ''"Anser" condoni'' and ''C. matthewi''<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Auk30:29;87:537 Condor46:25 --> *''Cygnus equitum'' (Middle - Late Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; IntGeolCongr32FieldTripGuideBookB07; Palaeontology31:725 --> *''Cygnus lacustris'' (Late Pleistocene of Lake Eyre region, Australia) - formerly ''Archaeocygnus''<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 --> *''Cygnus'' sp. (Pleistocene of Australia){{Fact|date=December 2007}}{{Verify source|date=December 2007}}<!-- possibly one of those de Vis' taxa which are synonymous or paleosubspecies of living birds --> The supposed fossil swans ''"Cygnus" bilinicus'' and ''"Cygnus" herrenthalsi''<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 --> were, respectively, a [[stork]] and some large bird of unknown affinity (due to the bad state of preservation of the referred material). ''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. Its phylogenetic position is not fully resolved; it is in some aspects more similar to [[geese]] and [[shelduck]]s. [[Image:Cygnus_buccinator_33417.JPG|250px|thumb|The Trumpeter Swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is the largest bird of [[North America]]]] ==Role in culture== {{seealso|Black Swan emblems and popular culture}} [[Image:Hermitageswan.jpg|thumb|200px|The swan figures prominently in the [[cosmogony]] of many ancient peoples. This felt artifact was produced by the [[Scythians]] some 2,500 years ago (a find from [[Pazyryk]]).]] [[Image:Accession of ten new countries to the European Union Reverse.jpg|thumb|200px|A swan depicted on an [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Ireland)|Irish commemorative coin]] in celebration of its EU accession.]] [[Image:Herb Łabędź 1.svg|thumb|right|200px|"[[Łabędź]]" ([[Polish language|Polish]] for "Swan") is a [[Polish heraldry|Polish coat of arms]] which was used by many ''[[szlachta]]'' (noble) families under the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. The variant here given is the coat-of-arms of writer [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]'s family.]] 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 story centres 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 (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' and ''[[Parsifal]]''. In the Irish legend ''[[Tochmarc Étaíne|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. Swans feature strongly in [[mythology]]. 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 (mythology)|Leda]], Queen of [[Sparta]]. 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 [[Ireland|Irish]] legend of the [[Children of Lir]] is about a stepmother transforming her children into swans for 900 years. <br/> The swan has recently been depicted on an [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Ireland)#2004 coinage|Irish commemorative coin]]. In [[Norse mythology]], there are two swans that drink from the sacred [[Well of Urd]] in the realm of [[Asgard]], home of the [[Aesir|gods]]. 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 poem ''[[Volundarkvida]]'', or the ''Lay of Volund'', part of the [[Poetic Edda]], also features swan maidens. In the [[Finland|Finnish]] epic [[Kalevala]], a swan lives in the Tuoni river located in [[Tuonela]], the underworld realm of the dead. 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)''. Today, five flying swans are the symbol of the [[Nordic Countries]] and the whooper swan (''Cygnus cygnus'') is the national bird of Finland. In [[Latin American literature]], the [[Nicaragua]]n 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 [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s ''Lohengrin''. 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]]. Such was the dominance of Modernismo in Spanish language poetry that the [[Mexico|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). Swans are revered in many religions and cultures, especially [[Hinduism]]. The [[Sanskrit]] word for swan is ''hamsa'' or ''hansa'', and it is the vehicle of many deities like the goddess [[Saraswati]]. It is mentioned several times in the [[Vedas|Vedic]] literature, and persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities are sometimes called [[Paramahamsa]] ("Great Swan") on account of their [[divine grace|spiritual grace]] and ability to travel between various spiritual worlds. In the Vedas, swans are said to reside in the summer on [[Lake Manasarovar]] and migrate to [[India]]n lakes for the winter, eat pearls, and separate milk from water in a mixture of both. Hindu [[iconography]] typically shows the Mute Swan. 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, [[ornithology|ornithological]] checklists clearly classify several species of swans as [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrant]] birds in India. The [[ballet]] "[[Swan Lake]]" by [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky]] is considered among both the most importatant works of this composer and among the often-performed classics of ballet. It is partially based on an ancient German legend, which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse - to which were added similar elements from Russian Russian folk tales<ref> such as [[The White Duck]] collected by [[Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev]] in [[Narodnye russkie skazki]] </ref>. The [[1994]] [[United States|American]] animated film, [[The Swan Princess]], is also derived from the same ancient sources, featuring an evil sorcerer who kidnaps a princess named Odette and curses her so that she is a swan by day and a woman by night, until the prince comes to rescue her. The Black Swan is the [[wiktionary:faunal|faunal]] emblem of the Australian state of [[Western Australia]] and swans are featured on the [[coat of arms of Canberra]], the Australian capital. Today swans are used symbolically or as brands. The [[Sydney Swans]] [[Australian Football League|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]]. 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]]''. [[Carl Orff]]'s [[cantata]], ''[[Carmina Burana (Orff)|Carmina Burana]]'' (and presumably also [[Carmina Burana|the collection of poetry upon which it is based]]) includes a text describing the roasting (and serving) of a swan as described from the swan's point of view. 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]]. == Attacks on humans == There is a well known legend that a swan can break a human's arm with a single swipe of its wing. This is an occurance which is possible, but only in exceptional circumstances. It is never used as a form of attack - swans only become aggressive when defending their nesting ground from other intruders, whether they are other swans, [[geese]] or humans.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/apr/07/birdflu.world</ref><ref>http://www.swanuk.org.uk/faq.htm See Frequently Asked Questions</ref> ==References== {{Refimprove|date=February 2008}} * '''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. ''[[Les Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences|C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris]] IIA'' '''327'''(5): 341-346. [French with English abridged version] <small>{{DOI|10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0}}</small> (HTML abstract) ==External links== {{commonscat|Cygnus}} *[http://www.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=27 Swan videos] on the Internet Bird Collection *[http://www.swanuk.org.uk/ The Swan Sanctuary Shepperton,England] *[http://imeleon.com/keywords/1/swan.html Swan photos] [[Category:Tribes of birds]] [[Category:Genera of birds]] [[Category:Heraldic birds]] [[Category:Anserinae]] [[Category:Swans| ]] [[ar:إوز عراقي]] [[zh-min-nan:Thian-gô]] [[ba:Аҡҡош]] [[bg:Лебеди]] [[ca:Cigne]] [[cs:Labuť]] [[cy:Alarch]] [[da:Svane]] [[de:Schwäne]] [[et:Luik]] [[el:Κύκνος (πτηνό)]] [[es:Cygnus (género)]] [[eo:Cigno]] [[fa:قو]] [[fr:Cygne]] [[fy:Swannen]] [[gl:Cisne]] [[gu:હંસ]] [[ko:고니류]] [[hr:Labudovi]] [[io:Cigno]] [[id:Angsa]] [[os:Доныхъаз]] [[it:Cygnus (uccelli)]] [[he:ברבור]] [[ka:გედები]] [[sw:Bata-maji]] [[la:Olor]] [[lb:Schwanen]] [[lt:Gulbės]] [[hu:Cygnus (madárnem)]] [[nah:Quetzalcanauhtli]] [[nl:Zwanen]] [[ja:ハクチョウ属]] [[kk:Аққу]] [[no:Svanefamilien]] [[pl:Łabędź]] [[pt:Cisne]] [[ro:Lebădă]] [[ru:Лебеди]] [[sc:Sìsini]] [[scn:Cignu]] [[simple:Swan]] [[sl:Labod]] [[su:Soang]] [[fi:Joutsenet]] [[sv:Svanar]] [[tl:Gansa (cygnus)]] [[vi:Thiên nga]] [[chr:ᏌᏌ]] [[tr:Kuğu]] [[uk:Лебеді]] [[zh:天鹅]]