Swan

From Conservapedia

Swan

Mute swan Cygnus olor
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Avialae
Order Information
Superorder	Galloanserimorphae
Order	Anseriformes
Sub-order	Anseres
Infraorder	Anserides
Family Information
Superfamily	Anatoidea
Family	Anatidae
Sub-family	Anserinae
Tribe Information
Tribe	Cygnini
Genus Information
Genus	Cygnus
Population statistics

Swans are several species of large waterfowl of the order Anseriformes.

The plumage of swans is either white, black (especially among Antipodean varieties), or a combination of the two (e.g. the black-necked swan).

In Britain the Crown owns all unmarked mute swans in open water, but currently the Queen only exercises her ownership rights on some stretches of the River Thames and its tributaries. Other varieties of swan (Bewick's, Whooper) are not included in this. The Swan Upping ceremony which takes place every July takes a head-count of all the mute swans on the Thames and marks them for ownership either by the Crown or by the Vintners' and Dyers' Livery Companies, which were granted their rights of ownership by the Crown in the fifteenth century.^[1]

Swans are aggressively territorial in defense of their nests.

1 Swans and fidelity
2 Species
3 Swan in music and literature
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

Swans and fidelity[edit]

Swans often form pairs for life, and if the mate of a swan dies the surviving partner never "remarries." They anthropomorphize this behavior, stating swans are therefore a very good lesson to us, as they uphold monogamous values.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] This behavior is not universal among swans, with researchers finding multiple instances of swan infidelity, DNA testing shows one in six cygnets is a result of an "extra-marital" encounter.^[6]

Species[edit]

Black swan, Cygnus atratus
Black-necked swan, Cygnus melancoryphus
Mute swan, Cygnus olor
Trumpeter swan, Cygnus buccinator
Tundra swan, Cygnus columbianus
Whooper swan, Cygnus cygnus

The Coscoroba swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) had at one time been considered a true swan; recent studies have indicated that it belongs in the same group as geese and shelducks, with the Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) as its closest relative.

Swan in music and literature[edit]

Ballet Swan Lake, this most revered of classical ballets, the music was wroten by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875.

The legend of the Swan-Maiden goes back for centuries, appearing in differing forms in both eastern and western literature. Women who turn into birds and vice versa were popular themes, and the swan was particularly favored due to its grace when swimming in the water. The ancient Greeks considered the swan to the bird closest to the Muses. When Apollo was born at Delos, the event was celebrated by flights of circling swans. ^[7]