Talk:Swan

message: Both the Mute swan and Whooper swan pages claim that their respective subjects are the type species for Cygnus. Presumably one of them is wrong?  199.212.219.8 (talk) 19:53, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Type Species

message: Is there not a special plural of the word swan? Or is it just 'swans'? Perhaps it should be mentioned in the article
Sainsbm (talk) 09:32, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swan and http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/swan so plural is swans. Perhaps pronounciation should be added also. Ernsts (talk) 12:44, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Plural?

message: I think my picture looks nicer than the one placed in the house, does anyone else agrreed it should be resized and changed? Also my picture is a picture for wikipedia, not a public domain image from anotehr site. -fonzy
:You don't need anyone's permission to change it, although its nice that you've taken the trouble to ask. The only thing I would say is that 250 pixel width has become semi-standard for pictures in tables, with a link to a larger version if desired.
:After all, your picture may also be replaced or editted at some future date-go for it. jimfbleak 05:36 May 13, 2003 (UTC)
::I didn't spot your house (honestly I didn't!) when I put mine into the taxobox or I would have chosen one which looked less like yours.
::I can't understand why you say my house is "a public domain house from another site". It certainly is not from another site, I took the pic myself and it doesn't appear anyewhere else on the internet. I went over to the local park specially to take pictures for Wikipedia. 
::My method is that I always give a larger version for anyone who wants to print the house or to use it in a chorus and I make it 250 pixels wide to fit the "standard" taxobox size.
::Adrian Pingstone 21:53 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)
:::We have added a new photo to the wikimedia commons if anyone would like to incorporate it into the article please do so, here is the link http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MuteSwanInLakeWaterRipples.jpg Jsu (talk) 17:52, 6 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Picture

message: reverted recent edit since no swans other than Mute Swan are owned by the the crown, and only some of those.
:For more information about Swan Ownership and Swan Upping
:The Monarchy Today - Ceremony and Symbol website has a full page of information about the Queens Swans.
:http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page4952.asp
:--Kay L Reed (talk) 00:05, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: This link seems to be dead, but there are many others, here is an example: Does The Queen really own all the swans?JHvW 13:26, 6 October 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: swan ownership

message: Taken out of the article:
:The word "swan" comes to us, unchanged, from the ancient Anglo-Saxon language of England.
So do many hundreds of words...
:It is possible that the word swan has its ultimate root even earlier, arising in part from the Celtic Brythonic survival Gwen (meaning "white").
Er, no... compare German Schwan, Dutch zwaan and Old Norse svanr. No need for any Caltic survival whatsoever.
:It could be either, and dose it matter any how.
--Freetown 00:35, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nonsense etymology 

message: could anyone tell me what breed of swan this is? Thanks! Tekana | Talk 14:22, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: It's a Mute Swan (only white one with red bill) jimfbleak 15:41, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Swan picture 

message: I'm most interested in where it most likely developed first.  Such as Australia.  Maybe not?...  Questions are... during evolution, when and where did the swan first appear, and how did the two dramatically different colors occur?  Why are they only in the few spots of the globe?  Anyone know?
I like to know these things, because we never really talk about these minor details.  If you ask a child what color a swan is, 99% will say White.  Although it is probable that the first swans where Black from Australia.  (btw, not a racial implication, just an evolutionary one...)
Thanks...
:The ducks, geese and swans are a very old lineage, one of the earliest flying birds. I'd be surprised if they arose in Australia - five species are northern hemisphere, one Australian, and two S. American (one not in Cygnus. The swans' close relatives, the geese are also mainly N. hemisphere. In the N. hemisphere, all the swans are white!. jimfbleak 16:33, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Evolution of Swan linked to Australia? 

message: I freely admit I know not about this - just someone asked me the difference between mute and "hooper" swans - I see no mention of "hooper" swans in this article, though this link lists them as "cygnus ferus", and I see that "whooper" swans are listed as "cygnus cygnus". Any help? Camillus (talk) 20:02, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Whooper is pronounced Hooper - same thing. Cygnus ferus just means wild swan (ie Whooper Swan as opposed to Mute Swan, not sci name. jimfbleak 05:36, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for that - but still, shouldn't the article mention something about this - that "whooper" is pronounced "hooper", that they're the same thing? A google for "hooper swan" comes up with plenty of links, so it seems that "hooper swan" is quite commonly used? Remember that perhaps the majority of folks looking up WP (as opposed to editors) are not experts... Camillus (talk) 20:46, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Whooper=Hooper?

message: Can anyone confirm this? Perhaps with a link to proper literature regarding it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.184.176.234 (talk) 15:04, 23 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Swans, can they break your arm? 

message: The Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) has been noted for swimming with only one leg, the other leg being rotated over the body and tucked under its furled wings. Cygnets do this from a young age.
Uncited and, frankly, so what? I think a lot of ducks and geese do this. Seems to be a bit overprecise. Sabine's Sunbird  talk 23:13, 20 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  removed statement 

message: You guys really missed this one. They can live 100 years.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.44.93.16 (talk) 13:50, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Source?99.237.42.98 (talk) 06:45, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Life expectancy 

message: Unlikely. You would have to prove it is exclusively pairing with male swans and only excitable by male swans, otherwise it is bisexuality. Transgender behavior is like not even specific, a lot of life forms on the planet shows transgender behavior since the definition covers any flux in precise "having intercourse with the opposite sex in order to mate" position. Replacing it with the term "bisexuality" for the time being. 99.237.42.98 (talk) 06:45, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: There would appear to be some unintentional equivocation here. Swans exhibiting homosexual behavior is not inconsistent with swans exhibiting heterosexual behavior; that is, "homosexual behavior" is not strictly equivalent to "homosexuality" as such. That said, I would agree that "transgender behavior" is far too vague. In fact, Bagemihl (or, perhaps, just his proselytizer here at wikipedia) does not seem to have a clear understanding of the concept (cf. the confusion between intersex and transgender in American_Bison).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.221.180.162 (talk) 09:40, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Homosexuality 

message: According to the article, section Behavior, Swans are monogamous, with a few exceptions. A recent news article on the BBC News web site reported a case of swan divorce.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/gloucestershire/8477351.stm
If anyone can use this news report to work it into the article or to provide another citation for the other citation, I think it would improve the article. I would do it myself, but lack the time.--TGC55 (talk) 16:03, 24 January 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: They are still monogamous, as opposed to being polygamous (one male or female with multiple mates), polyamarous (multiple males and females) or promiscuous. Divorce occurs in all monogamous species, the rate varying by species. Some birds are seasonally monogamous (only one partner each year, but different partners every year), others have long term bonds that can survive decades (like albatrosses or these swans. But that they divorce doesn't stop them being a monogamous species (or group). Sabine's Sunbird  talk 20:52, 7 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Monogamous? - report of exception 

message: Surprised there's no section on culinary uses? Roast swan was a medieval delicacy, it's worth a mention.176.25.151.40 (talk) 11:06, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: I think that's only Mute Swan Jimfbleak -  talk to me? 13:15, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Culinary uses 

message: Sanskrit "haṁsaḥ", while often translated as "swan", is related to Latin "anser" (goose), all from the Indo-European *ĝhans- 'goose'. 
It is not from ie. *su̯en- 'to sound', the origin of both the word "swan" and the Sanskrit verbal root svan- 'to sound, roar, rattle'. 
As far as I know, there is no pre-colonial depiction of Sarasvati with a bird that is definitely as swan (and not more likely a goose). There are geese in India, but despite having lived there for two years I never came across a swan, except for Cygnus olor in some parks, and their ancestors were brought in by the British. I therefore assume that all the swans in Hindu mythology are inventions of 19th-century indologists who didn't know their biology.
So, if there is an indigenous species of the genus Cygnus in India, please ürove me wrong by stating which one it is.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.194.4.87 (talk) 21:56, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Swans in India? 

message: Dear Writer,
Your article seems to have the intention to be "exhaustive". But there is no "exhaust". More important is the "part" these animals have in "the animal world". But I guess you have "no concern".
Obliged.
145.129.136.48 (talk) 11:26, 24 February 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Am I correct in understanding your question to relate to the Swan's Ecological niche?  I'm not sure what you mean by "no concern". ~ ONUnicorn(Talk|Contribs)problem solving 18:01, 24 February 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Exhaustive? 

message: whooper
/ˈhuːpə,ˈwuːpə/
noun
a large migratory swan with a black and yellow bill and a loud trumpeting call, breeding in northern Eurasia and Greenland.
Oxford Languages
:This page already exists as Whooper swan.  It's possible that there should be a redirect at Whooper.  I'm in North America so I don't have a feel for how common this usage is. Dan Bloch (talk) 14:37, 22 March 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  ''make page'': [[whooper]] 

message: Today I saw a nesting female mute swan being fed by a male swan (or that's what it looked like to me anyway). He was biting off bits of vegetation and then putting it where she could reach it without having to stop sitting on the eggs! Anyone seen this before?  Tewdar  20:30, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Heartwarming sight 

message: The last sentence of §Taxonomy states the following:
> A group of swans is called a bevy^{[citation needed]} or a wedge.^{[20]}
However, elsewhere in the article, groups of swans are referred to as flocks.  For example, in the last sentence of §Behaviour (emphasis mine):
> The ... congregate in large _flocks_ in the wintering grounds.^{[31]}
Which is correct? 
(Or if they're both correct, which is more correct?  (Or are they equally correct?)) 
If one is more correct than the other, should the usage of the less correct one be replaced with the correct one?
~~ Kotnen (talk) 14:49, 18 January 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: "Bevy" and "wedge" are obscure terms enjoyed by some people.  They aren't used by ornithologists or birdwatchers.  "Flock" is a more general word which can apply to a group of any species of bird.  It's more appropriate in most circumstances. Dan Bloch (talk) 21:40, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Group of Swans