Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-08-06
SWANS OF THE THAMES.
The Annual Tipping Work, OF
Marking the Birds.
From the London Standard.

From the London Standard.
The interesting process of marking
the numerous swans on the Thames so
as to determine their ownership in
after years. or, as it is called. swan
tipping. begins today. and will occupy
the attention of Mr.. T. r. Abnett tswan
master to the king and of Mr.. r. Turk
and Mr.. F. Turk (the swan keepers to
| the Winners and the Dyers' companies,
| respectively during the next four or
five days.
According to local legend. the first
pair of swans was placed on the
Thames so far back as the time of
Richard I. a great lady in Cyprus it
Is SAID, presented a pair of the birds
to that monarch after one of his cru
sades. The birds were then it is be-
leved, indigenous to Cyprus. but the
pair presented to the king. when placed
on the Thames. so the story goes. were
the ancestors of the numerous colony
which today forms such picturesque
feature of up-river life. Since their
Introduction the swans have multiplied
greatly in number, the total number
| on the Thames from Southwark bridge
upward being estimated at close upon
a thousand
At one time there were as many as
900 swan owners on the Thames. and it
is matter for speculation. there being
no records on the subject. how each
owner was able to identify the bird or
| birds which belonged to him. Today
the whole of the swans on the Thames
belong to the king the Winners COM
whom owns birds in about equal num-
bers. How the Winners and the
Dyers' companies came to take an in
terest in such a matter as the rearing
of swans may puzzle some people, but
it is explained by the fact that in olden
days, when city companies We're wont
frequently to go upon the river in state
barges. swans were introduced to i'm
part a picturesque feature to the river
scenes which the liverymen were called
upon to visit.
The king and the companies have
each distinctive mark for the birds
belonging to them. and every swan on
the Thames today bears this distinctive
mark This mark is scratched on the
beak of each bird with knife, and in
the case of the birds belonging to the
king the mark takes the form of dia-
mond. while those belonging to the
Winners company are marked with
downward curve on both sides of the
beak similar curve with four per-
pendicular lines alongside indicating
the birds that belong to the DyerS
company. The process of marking the
swans always takes place toward the
end Of July. soon after the end of the
breeding season. and the three swan
masters then, as they VIII today. go
up and down the ThameS, searching IN
all the backwaters for the young cyg-
nets. and, when these have been found,
scratching upon their beaks the dis
tinctive mark by which they may be
recognized at any time.
When the swan masters undertake
this annual pilgrimage they are dressed
in the uniforms which they are entitled
to wear and a number of assistants
who accompany them are also Justine
lively CARRIED those attached to the
kings swan master being dressed in
red sweaters. while the winners as
sistants are dressed in sweaters of blue
and white, the Dyers wearing blue. 1t
is very troublesome task to secure
all the young birds and mark them In
the way described. and although 1t Is
not altogether devoid of danger. 1t has
never been known to result in any seri-
Gus accident. The pugnacity OF the
With it's Young is we'll known, and
many light-hearted frequenters of the
Thames have learned this to their cost