66 SWANS 



THE SWANS 



Subfamily Cygninae 



MUTE SWAN 



Sthenelides olor 

 (Cygnus olor, of Peters) 

 (sthen-el-i-des, 6-lor; sig-nus) 



Colour Plate No. 1. 



SCIENTIC NAME 



Sthenelides, from Latin Stheneleis or Stheneleius, the son of Sthenelus; in 

 mythology, Stheneleis was changed into a swan Olor, Latin, meaning a swan 

 Cygnus, Latin, meaning a swan. 



COLLOQUIAL NAMES 



None in North America. In England called swan, mute swan, or wild swan; 

 and in France cygne sauvage (wild swan). 



DESCRIPTION AND SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



ADULTS, BOTH SEXES. Entire plumage, white; eye, brown; narrow bluish- 

 grey ring around eye; bill, upper mandi- 

 ble, pinkish red, tinged with orange, 

 blackish area about nostril, along edges 

 of mandibles and on nail; lower mandi- 

 ble, blackish at base, flesh-coloured to- 

 wards tip; fleshy knob on forehead at 

 base of bill, and naked area between 

 eye and bill (lores], black; knob on 

 forehead less conspicuous in female; feet, 

 dusky. 



Fie. M.-Head of Mute Swan JUVENILE. Sexes alike, all parts 



whitish, mottled, and tipped with greyish 

 brown, crown, darkest, breast, lightest; 



bill, blackish in very young birds, soon becoming dusky, suffused with flesh-colour; 



naked area between eye and bill, blackish; feet, dusky. Full white plumage of 



maturity probably not achieved for two years or longer. 



FIELD MARKS 



ON THE WATER. A very large, long-necked, all-white bird, with reddish 

 bill having, in the male, a large black knob at its base. The neck is usually held 

 curved, with the bill inclined downwards; the native swans usually hold the neck 

 erect, and the bill horizontal. The feathers of the wings are capable of being 

 raised, arch-fashion, over the back. 



LIFE STORY 



The Mute Swan, the swan of our parks and country estates, is not 

 a native species, but was introduced from Europe. Actually this swan 

 is not "mute," as when angry it hisses, and in calling its young makes a 

 noise likened to the bark of a small dog. In its wild state in Denmark 



