View source for Swan

{{Short description|Tribe of large water birds}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Cygnet}}
{{Automatic taxobox
 | name = Swan
 | fossil_range = {{Geological range|Late Miocene|Holocene|[[Late Miocene]] – [[Holocene]]|ref=<ref name="Northcote 1981">{{Cite journal |last=Northcote |first=E. M. |year=1981 |title=Size difference between limb bones of recent and subfossil Mute Swans (''Cygnus olor'') |journal=J. Archaeol. Sci. |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=89–98 |doi=10.1016/0305-4403(81)90014-5 |bibcode=1981JArSc...8...89N }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fossilworks Cygnus Garsault 1764 (waterfowl) Reptilia – Anseriformes – Anatidae PaleoDB taxon number: 83418 Parent taxon: Anatidae according to T. H. Worthy and J. A. Grant-Mackie 2003 See also Bickart 1990, Howard 1972, Parmalee 1992 and Wetmore 1933 |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=83418 |access-date=2021-12-17 |archive-date=2021-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212183144/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=83418 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
 | image = Mute Swan Emsworth2.JPG
 | image_caption  = [[Mute swan]] (''Cygnus olor'')
 | taxon = Cygnus
 | authority = [[François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault|Garsault]], 1764
 | type_species = ''[[Mute swan|Anas olor]]''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=14 |title= Anatidae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-08-05}}</ref><br />(now ''Cygnus olor'')
 | type_species_authority = Gmelin, 1789
 | subdivision_ranks = Species
 | subdivision = 6 living, see [[#Species|text]].
 | synonyms =
''Cygnanser'' <small>[[Miklós Kretzoi|Kretzoi]], 1957</small>
}}

'''Swans''' are birds of the genus '''''Cygnus''''' within the family [[Anatidae]]. The swans' closest relatives include [[goose|geese]] and [[duck]]s. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily [[Anserinae]], forming the [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] '''Cygnini'''. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, '''Cygninae'''. They are the largest [[Anseriformes|waterfowl]] and are often among the largest [[Bird flight|flighted]] birds in their range. 

There are six living and many [[extinct]] species of swan; in addition, there is a species known as the [[coscoroba swan]], which is no longer considered one of the '''true swans'''. Swans usually [[mate for life]], although separation sometimes occurs, particularly following nesting failure, and if a mate dies, the remaining swan will take up with another. The number of [[bird egg|eggs]] in each [[:wikt:clutch|clutch]] ranges from three to eight.<ref>{{cite web |title=Swan Breeding Profile: Pairing, Incubation, Nesting / Raising of Young |url=https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swanbreeding.html |access-date=5 July 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706021904/https://www.beautyofbirds.com/swanbreeding.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Taxonomy and terminology==
The genus ''Cygnus'' was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalist [[François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Garsault | first=François Alexandre Pierre de | author-link=François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault | year=1764 | title=Les figures des plantes et animaux d'usage en medecine, décrits dans la Matiere Medicale de Geoffroy Medecin | volume=5 | language=French | location=Paris | publisher=Desprez | at=Plate 688 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33606635 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Welter-Schultes | first1=F.W. | last2=Klug | first2=R. | year=2009 | title=Nomenclatural consequences resulting from the rediscovery of ''Les figures des plantes et animaux d'usage en médecine'', a rare work published by Garsault in 1764, in the zoological literature | journal=Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature | volume=66 | issue=3 | pages=225–241 [238] | doi=10.21805/bzn.v66i3.a1 | url=https://www.biotaxa.org/bzn/issue/view/5184/306 }}</ref> The English word ''swan'', akin to the German {{Lang|de|Schwan}}, Dutch {{lang|nl|zwaan}}, and Swedish {{lang|sv|svan}}, is derived from the [[Indo-European root]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|*swen(H)}} ({{gloss|to sound, to sing}}).<ref>{{OEtymD|swan}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World|last1=Mallory|first1=J. P.|last2=Adams|first2=D. Q.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|isbn=0-19-928791-0|location=New York|pages=360}}</ref>

[[File:Mute swan family with five cygnets.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mute swan]] (''Cygnus olor'') family with five cygnets swimming on a lake in [[Romania]]|alt=Mute swan family with five cygnets swimming]]
{{Vanchor|Young swan|text=Young swans}} are known as ''cygnets'', from [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|cigne}} or {{lang|fro|cisne}} (diminutive suffix ''et'' {{gloss|little}}), from the [[Latin]] word {{wikt-lang|la|cygnus}}, a variant form of {{lang|la|cycnus}} {{gloss|swan}}, itself from the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|κύκνος}} {{lang|grc-Latn|kýknos}}, a word of the same meaning.<ref>{{L&S|cycnus1|cycnus|ref}}</ref><ref>{{LSJ|ku/knos|κύκνος|ref}}.</ref><ref>{{OEtymD|cygnet}}</ref> An adult male is a ''cob'', from [[Middle English]] {{lang|enm|cobbe}} (leader of a group); an adult female is a ''pen''.<ref name="PeterYoung">{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |title=Swan |date=2008 |publisher=Reaktion |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-349-9 |page=13}}</ref> A group of swans is called a bevy{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} or a wedge.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipton |first=James |url=http://archive.org/details/exaltationoflark00lipt |title=An Exaltation of Larks: Or, The Venereal Game |date=1977 |publisher=New York : Viking |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-670-30044-0 |edition=Expanded 2nd |pages=36}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Schwanflug22.jpg|thumb|A [[mute swan]] landing on water; due to the size and weight of most swans, large areas of open land or water are required to successfully take off and land.]]
Swans are the largest extant members of the waterfowl family [[Anatidae]] and are among the largest flying birds.<ref>{{cite web |title=ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA Swan |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/swan |access-date=2018-05-20 |archive-date=2018-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521024650/https://www.britannica.com/animal/swan |url-status=live }}</ref> The largest living species, including the [[mute swan]], [[trumpeter swan]], and [[whooper swan]], can reach a length of over {{convert|1.5|m|in|abbr=on}} and weigh over {{convert|15|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. Their wingspans can be over {{convert|3.1|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Madge">{{Cite book |last1=Madge |first1=Steve |last2=Burn |first2=Hilary |title=Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1988 |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-395-46727-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/waterfowl00stev }}</ref> Compared to the closely related geese, they are much larger and have proportionally larger feet and necks.<ref name="Ducks">{{Cite book |title=Ducks, Geese and Swans |editor=Kear, Janet |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2005 |series=Bird Families of the World |isbn=978-0-19-861008-3}}</ref> Adults also have a patch of unfeathered skin between the eyes and bill. The sexes are alike in [[plumage]], but males are generally bigger and heavier than females.<ref name=PeterYoung/> The biggest species of swan ever was the extinct ''[[Cygnus falconeri]]'', a flightless giant swan known from fossils found on the Mediterranean islands of [[Malta]] and [[Sicily]]; its disappearance is thought to have resulted from extreme climate fluctuations or the arrival of superior predators and competitors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mindat.org|url=https://www.mindat.org/taxon-9721570.html|access-date=2021-11-27|website=www.mindat.org|archive-date=2021-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127133126/https://www.mindat.org/taxon-9721570.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Northern Hemisphere]] species of swan have pure white plumage, while the [[Southern Hemisphere]] species are mixed black and white. The Australian [[black swan]] (''Cygnus atratus'') is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings; the chicks of black swans are light grey. The South American [[black-necked swan]] has a white body with a black neck.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |title=Swan |date=2008 |publisher=Reaktion |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-349-9 |pages=18–27}}</ref>

The legs of most swans are typically a dark blackish-grey colour, except for the South American black-necked swan, which has 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. Although birds do not have teeth, swans, like other Anatidae, have beaks with serrated edges that look like small jagged "teeth" as part of their beaks, which are used for catching and eating aquatic plants and algae, as well as molluscs, small fish, frogs, and worms.<ref>[http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/m/muteswan/feeding.aspx "Mute Swan. Feeding"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225021204/http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/m/muteswan/feeding.aspx |date=25 December 2014 }}, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds</ref> In the mute swan and black-necked swan, both sexes have a fleshy lump at the base of their bills on the upper [[mandible]], known as the knob, which is larger in males and is condition-dependent, changing seasonally.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |title=Swan |date=2008 |publisher=Reaktion |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-349-9 |pages=20 and 27}}</ref><ref>Horrocks, N., Perrins, C. and Charmantier, A., 2009. Seasonal changes in male and female bill knob size in the mute swan Cygnus olor. Journal of avian biology, 40(5), pp.511-519.</ref>

==Distribution and movements==
{{See also|List of Anseriformes by population}}
[[File:Whooper-swan.jpg|thumb|right|[[Whooper swan]]s migrate from [[Iceland]], [[Greenland]], [[Scandinavia]], and northern [[Russia]] to Europe, Central Asia, [[China]], and [[Japan]].]]
Swans are generally found in temperate environments, rarely occurring in the [[tropics]]. Four (or five) species occur in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], one species is found in Australia, one [[extinct]] species was found in New Zealand and the [[Chatham Islands]], and one species is distributed in southern South America. They are absent from tropical Asia, Central America, northern South America and the entirety of Africa. One species, the mute swan, has been [[introduced species|introduced]] to North America, Australia and New Zealand.<ref name="Ducks" />

Several species are [[Bird migration|migratory]], either wholly or partly so. The mute swan is a partial migrant, being resident over areas of Western Europe but wholly migratory in Eastern Europe and Asia. The tundra swan is wholly migratory, and the whooper swan and trumpeter swan are almost entirely migratory.<ref name="Ducks" /> There is some evidence that the black-necked swan is migratory over part of its range, but detailed studies have not established whether these movements constitute long- or short-range migration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schlatter |first1=Roberto |last2=Navarro |first2=Rene A. |last3=Corti |first3=Paulo |year=2002 |title=Effects of El Nino Southern Oscillation on Numbers of Black-Necked Swans at Rio Cruces Sanctuary, Chile |journal=Waterbirds |volume=25 |issue=Special Publication 1 |pages=114–122 |jstor=1522341}}</ref>

==Behaviour==
[[File:Courting swan on Danube.jpg|thumb|left|Courting swan on the [[Danube]] river]]
[[File:Swans with nest and eggs at Lake Constance.jpg|thumb|Swans with nest and eggs at [[Lake Constance]]=]]
Swans feed in water and on land. They are almost entirely herbivorous, although they may eat small amounts of aquatic animals. In the water, food is obtained by up-ending or dabbling, and their diet is composed of the roots, tubers, stems, and leaves of aquatic and submerged plants.<ref name="Ducks" /> 

[[File:The swan attacks man.Hokkaido-toyako,人を襲う洞爺湖の白鳥P6200258モザイク.jpg|thumb|right|Mute swan threatens a photographer in [[Tōyako, Hokkaido|Toyako]], Japan.]]
A familiar behaviour of swans is that they mate for life and typically bond even before they reach sexual maturity. Trumpeter swans, for example, can live as long as 24 years and only start breeding at the age of 4–7, forming monogamous [[pair bond]]s as early as 20 months.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ross |first=Drew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYyqe06fpS0C&pg=PA35 |journal=National Parks |date=March–April 1998 |volume=72 |issue=3–4 |page=35 |title=Gaining Ground: A Swan's Song |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326224550/http://books.google.com/books?id=AYyqe06fpS0C&pg=PA35 |archive-date=26 March 2014 }}</ref> "Divorce", though rare, does occur; one study of mute swans shows a 3% rate for pairs that breed successfully and 9% for pairs that do not.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.audubon.org/news/till-death-do-them-part-8-birds-mate-life/|title=Till Death do them Part: 8 Birds that Mate for Life|first=Michele|last=Berger|date=11 June 2018|publisher=National Academies Press (US)|access-date=11 June 2018|via=www.audubon.org|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142009/https://www.audubon.org/news/till-death-do-them-part-8-birds-mate-life/|url-status=live}}</ref> The pair bonds are maintained year-round, even in gregarious and migratory species like the [[tundra swan]], which congregate in large flocks in the wintering grounds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=D. K. |year=1980 |title=Functional aspects of the pair bond in winter in Bewick's swans (''Cygnus columbianus bewickii'') |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=323–327 |doi=10.1007/BF00300673|bibcode=1980BEcoS...7..323S |s2cid=32804332 }}</ref>

Swans' nests are on the ground near water and about a metre (3') across. Unlike many other ducks and geese, the male helps with the nest construction and will also take turns incubating the eggs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Dafila |title=Swans |date=1995 |publisher=Colin Baxter Photography |location=Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland |isbn=978-0-948661-63-1 |page=51}}</ref> Alongside the [[whistling duck]]s, swans are the only anatids that will do this. The average egg size (for the mute swan) is 113 × 74&nbsp;mm ({{frac|4|1|2}} x 3 in), weighing 340 g (12&nbsp;oz), in a clutch size of 4 to 7, with an incubation period of 34–45 days.<ref name="BTO">[http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob1520.htm "Mute Swan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120708230834/http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob1520.htm |date=2012-07-08 }}. British Trust for Ornithology</ref> Swans are highly protective of their nests. They will viciously attack anything that they perceive as a threat to their chicks, including humans; one man was suspected to have drowned in such an attack.<ref>{{cite news |last=Waldren |first=Ben |date=16 April 2012 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/killer-swan-blamed-mans-drowning-120835237--abc-news-topstories.html |title=Killer Swan Blamed for Man's Drowning |publisher=Yahoo News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807182722/http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/killer-swan-blamed-mans-drowning-120835237--abc-news-topstories.html |archive-date=7 August 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17736292 |work=BBC News |title=Who, What, Why: How dangerous are swans? |date=17 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417181615/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17736292 |archive-date=17 April 2012 }}</ref> Swans' intraspecific aggressive behaviour is shown more frequent than interspecific behaviour for food and shelter. The aggression with other species is shown more in [[tundra swan]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wood|first1=Kevin A.|last2=Ham|first2=Phoebe|last3=Scales|first3=Jake|last4=Wyeth|first4=Eleanor|last5=Rose|first5=Paul E.|date=7 August 2020|title=Aggressive behavioural interactions between swans (Cygnus spp.) and other waterbirds during winter: a webcam-based study|journal=Avian Research|volume=11|issue=1|pages=30|doi=10.1186/s40657-020-00216-7|issn=2053-7166|doi-access=free|hdl=10871/126306|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==Systematics and evolution==
[[File:Black Swans mating in Lake Burley Griffin-2 (5549171039).jpg|thumb|Black swans mating in [[Canberra]], Australia]]
[[File:Trumpeter Swan × Whooper Swan with hybrid cygnets, Kalamazoo, Michigan 31393340.jpg|thumb|Trumpeter and whooper swans, with hybrid offspring]]
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 is closest to the Southern Hemisphere ''Cygnus'';<ref>{{cite book |editor1=del Hoyo | display-editors=etal|title=Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1 |date=1992 |publisher=Lynx Edicions}}</ref> its habits of carrying the neck curved (not straight) and the wings fluffed (not flush) as well as its bill colour and knob indicate that its closest living relative is the black swan. Given the [[biogeography]] and appearance of the [[subgenus]] ''Olor'', it seems likely that these are of a more recent origin, as evidenced shows by their modern ranges (which were mostly uninhabitable during the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]]) and great similarity between the taxa.<ref name="Northcote 1981" />

===Phylogeny===
{{clade|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%
|label1=''Cygnus''
|1={{clade
  |label1=(''Sthenelides'')
  |1=''[[Black-necked swan|C. melancoryphus]]'' (Black-necked swan)
  |2={{clade
    |label1=(''Chenopis'')
    |1=''[[Cygnus atratus|C. atratus]]'' <small>(Latham, 1790)</small> (Black swan)
    |2={{clade
      |label1=(''Cygnus'')
      |1=''[[Cygnus olor|C. olor]]'' <small>(Gmelin, 1789)</small> (Mute swan)
      |label2=(''Olor'')
      |2={{clade
        |1=''[[Cygnus buccinator|C. buccinator]]'' <small>(Richardson, 1832)</small> (Trumpeter swan)
        |2=''[[Cygnus cygnus|C. cygnus]]'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> (Whooper swan)
        |3=''[[Cygnus columbianus|C. columbianus]]'' <small>(Ord, 1815)</small> (Tundra swan)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boyd |first1=John H. |title=Anserini species tree |url=http://jboyd.net/Taxo/Anserini.pdf |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-date=5 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005063025/http://jboyd.net/Taxo/Anserini.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
}}

===Species===
'''Genus ''Cygnus'''''
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! Subgenus
! Image
! Scientific name
! Common name
!Description
! Distribution
|-
! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;"| Subgenus ''Cygnus''
|[[File:Cisne (Cygnus olor) en el Palacio de Nymphenburg, Múnich, Alemania30.JPG|120px]]
|''Cygnus olor''
|[[Mute swan]]
|Eurasian species that occurs across Europe into southern Russia, China, and the [[Primorsky Krai|Russian Maritime Territory]], at lower latitudes compared to the whooper swan and Bewick's swan. According to the [[British Ornithologists' Union]], recent fossil records show that ''Cygnus olor'' is among the oldest bird species still extant; it has been upgraded to "native" status in several European countries since this bird has been found in fossil and bog specimens dating back thousands of years. While being common temperate Eurasian birds, often derived from semi-domesticated flocks, they are now naturalised in the [[United States]] and elsewhere.
|Europe into southern Russia, China, and the Russian Maritime Territory; introduced populations in North America, Japan, [[Australasia]], and southern Africa.
|-
! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;"| Subgenus ''Chenopis''
|[[File:Black Swan in Australia.JPG|120px]]
|''Cygnus atratus''
|[[Black swan]]
|Nomadic with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black plumage and a red bill.
|Australia, introduced into New Zealand and the [[Chatham Islands]], with additional smaller introductions in Europe, the United States, Japan and China.
|-
! rowspan="1" style="text-align:center;"| Subgenus ''Sthenelides''
|[[File:Black-necked Swans (Cygnus melancoryphus), near Chacao, Chile (25184819835).jpg|120px]]
|''Cygnus melancoryphus''
|[[Black-necked swan]]
|
|South America
|-
! rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Subgenus ''Olor''
|[[File:Cygnus cygnus EM1B1735 (50023626141).jpg|120px]]
|''Cygnus cygnus''
|[[Whooper swan]]
|
|Breeds in [[Iceland]] and subarctic Europe and Asia, migrating to temperate Europe and Asia in winter
|-
|[[File:Trumpeter Swaw (Cygnus buccinator) RWD1.jpg|120px]]
|''Cygnus buccinator''
|[[Trumpeter swan]]
|The largest North American swan. Very similar to the whooper swan (and sometimes treated as a subspecies of it). It was hunted almost to [[extinction]] but has since recovered.
|North America
|-
|[[File:Bewick's Swans at Big Waters.jpg|120px]]
|''Cygnus columbianus''
|[[Tundra swan]]
|Breeds on the Arctic [[tundra]] and winters in more temperate regions of [[Eurasia]] and North America. It consists of two forms, generally regarded as subspecies, although some authorities treat them as separate species.<ref>{{cite web | title=Overzicht van alle vogels waargenomen in Nederland | website=Dutch Avifauna | url=https://www.dutchavifauna.nl/list. | language=nl | access-date=2025-05-17}}</ref>
* Bewick's swan ''Cygnus'' (''columbianus'') ''bewickii'' is the Eurasian form that migrates from Arctic Russia to western Europe and eastern Asia (China, Korea, Japan) in winter.
* Whistling swan ''Cygnus'' (''columbianus'') ''columbianus'' is the North American form.
|North America, Eurasia
|-
|}

The [[coscoroba swan]] (''Coscoroba coscoroba'') from South America, the only species in its genus, is not a true swan. Its phylogenetic position is not fully resolved; it is in some aspects more similar to [[Goose|geese]] and [[shelduck]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zoo.org/page.aspx?pid=1842#.V6a615MrI6g |title=COSCOROBA SWAN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808082000/https://www.zoo.org/page.aspx?pid=1842 |archive-date=8 August 2016}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Mute × Whooper Swan imported from iNaturalist photo 13133281 on 6 December 2024.jpg
| image2            = Trumpeter × Whooper Swan imported from iNaturalist photo 5105993 on 6 December 2024 (cropped).jpg
| image3            = Trumpeter × Mute Swan, Morningstar Dr, Parksville, BC V9P, Canada imported from iNaturalist photo 58193430.jpg
| image4            = Trumpeter × Tundra Swan imported from iNaturalist photo 186420958 on 6 December 2024.jpg
| align             = center
| total_width       = 800
| header            = Hybrids
| caption1          = Mute x Whooper Swan
| caption2          = Trumpeter × Whooper Swan
| caption3          = Trumpeter × Mute Swan
| caption4          = Trumpeter × Tundra Swan
}}

===Fossil record===
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''. Several prehistoric species have been described, mostly from the Northern Hemisphere. In the Mediterranean, the leg bones of the giant swan (''[[Cygnus falconeri|C. falconeri]]'') were found on the islands of [[Malta]] and [[Sicily]]; it may have been over 2 metres from tail to bill, which was taller (though not heavier) than the contemporary local dwarf elephants (''[[Palaeoloxodon falconeri]]'').
[[File:Cygnus chathamensis mounted skeleton.jpg|thumb|†New Zealand swan (''C. sumnerensis'')]]
* Subgenus ''Chenopis''
** †[[New Zealand swan]], ''Cygnus sumnerensis'', an extinct species related to the black swan of Australia
* Other subgenera (see above):
** †''Cygnus atavus'' <small>(Fraas 1870) Mlíkovský 1992</small> [''Anas atava'' <small>Fraas 1870</small>; ''Anas cygniformis'' <small>Fraas 1870</small>; ''Palaelodus steinheimensis'' <small>Fraas 1870</small>; ''Anser atavus'' <small>(Fraas 1870) Lambrecht 1933</small>; ''Anser cygniformis'' <small>(Fraas 1870) Lambrecht 1933</small>] (Middle Miocene of Germany)
** †''Cygnus csakvarensis'' <small>Lambrecht 1933</small> [''Cygnus csákvárensis'' <small>Lambrecht 1931a nomen nudum</small>; ''Cygnanser csakvarensis'' <small>(Lambrecht 1933) Kretzoi 1957</small>; ''Olor csakvarensis'' <small>(Lambrecht 1933) Mlíkovský 1992b</small>] (Late Miocene of Hungary)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 -->
** †Dwarf swan (''Cygnus equitum'') <small>Bate 1916 sensu Livezey 1997</small> [''Anser equitum'' <small>(Bate 1916) Brodkorb 1964</small>; ''Cygnus'' (''Olor'') ''equitum'' <small>Bate 1916 sensu Northcote 1988a</small>] (Middle – Late Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; IntGeolCongr32FieldTripGuideBookB07; Palaeontology31:725 -->
** †[[Giant swan]] (''Cygnus falconeri'') <small>Parker 1865 sensu Livezey 1997a</small> [''Cygnus melitensis'' <small>Falconer 1868</small>; ''Palaeocygnus falconeri'' <small>(Parker 1865) Oberholser 1908</small>] (Middle Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Ardeola51:91; Palaeontology31:725 -->
** †''Cygnus hibbardi'' <small>Brodkorb 1958</small> (?Early Pleistocene of Idaho, U.S.)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 -->
** †''Cygnus lacustris'' <small>(De Vis 1905)</small> [''Archaeocycnus lacustris'' <small>De Vis 1905</small>] (Late Pleistocene of the Lake Eyre region, Australia)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1 -->
** †''Cygnus liskunae'' <small>(Kuročkin 1976)</small> [''Anser liskunae'' <small>Kuročkin 1976</small>] (Middle Pliocene of western Mongolia)
** †''Cygnus mariae'' <small>Bickart 1990</small> (Late Miocene of Florida and Early Pliocene of Arizona, USA)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bickart|first1=K.J.|year=1990|title=Part I: The birds of the late Miocene-early Pliocene Big Sandy Formation, Mohave County, Arizona|journal=Ornithological Monographs|volume=44|issue=1|pages=1–72|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40166673|doi=10.2307/40166673|jstor=40166673 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Steadman |first1=David |last2=Takano |first2=Oona |title=A new genus and species of heron (Aves: Ardeidae) from the late Miocene of Florida |journal=Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History |url=https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10094084-new-genus-species-heron-aves-ardeidae-from-late-miocene-florida |date=April 2019 |volume=55 |issue=9 |pages=174–186 |doi=10.58782/flmnh.qskt9951 |issn=2373-9991|doi-access=free }}</ref>
** †''[[Cygnus paloregonus]]'' <small>Cope 1878</small> [''Anser condoni'' <small>Schufeldt 1892</small>; ''Cygnus matthewi'' <small>Schufeldt 1913</small>] (Middle Pleistocene of west-central U.S.)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Auk30:29;87:537 Condor46:25 -->
** †''Cygnus verae'' <small>Boev 2000</small> (Early Pliocene of Bulgaria)<ref>Boev, Z. 2000. "''Cygnus verae'' sp. n. (Anseriformes: Anatidae) from the Early Pliocene of Sofia (Bulgaria)". ''Acta zoologica cracovienzia'', Krakow, 43 (1–2): 185–192.</ref>
** †''Cygnus'' sp. <small>Louchart ''et al''. 1998</small> (Early Pleistocene of Turkey)<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0 | title=L'Avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: Climat, environnement et biogéographie |trans-title=The avifauna of Dursunlu, Turkey, Lower Pleistocene: climate, environment and biogeography| date=1998 | last1=Louchart | first1=Antoine | last2=Mourer-Chauviré | first2=Cécile | last3=Guleç | first3=Erksin | last4=Howell | first4=Francis Clark | last5=White | first5=Tim D. | journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science | volume=327 | issue=5 | pages=341–346 | bibcode=1998CRASE.327..341L }}</ref>
** †''Cygnus'' sp. (Pleistocene of Australia)<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Louchart|first1=Antoine|last2=Vignaud|first2=Patrick|last3=Likius|first3=Andossa|last4=Mackaye|first4=Hassane T.|last5=Brunet|first5=Michel|date=27 June 2005|title=A New Swan (Aves: Anatidae) in Africa, from the Latest Miocene of Chad and Libya|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=25|issue=2|pages=384–392|doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0384:ANSAAI]2.0.CO;2|jstor=4524452|s2cid=85860957 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sfetcu|first=Nicolae|title=The Birds World|year=2011|isbn=9781447875857}}</ref><!-- possibly one of those de Vis' taxa which are synonymous with or paleosubspecies of living birds -->
* Other genera
** † ''[[Annakacygna]]''

The supposed fossil swans ''"Cygnus" bilinicus'' and ''"Cygnus" herrenthalsi'' were, respectively, a [[stork]] and some large bird of unknown affinity (due to the bad state of preservation of the referred material).<ref name=Mlíkovský>{{cite book |last=Mlíkovský |first=Jiří  |year=2002 |title=Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe |journal=The Auk |volume=121 |issue=2 |publisher=Ninox Press |location=Prague |id={{Listed Invalid ISBN |80-901105-3-8}} |doi=10.1093/auk/121.2.623|url=http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411215341/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2016 |page=123}}</ref>

==In culture==
{{See also|Black swan emblems and popular culture|Swan upping|Swan maiden}}

===European motifs===
Many of the cultural aspects refer to the mute swan of Europe. Perhaps the best-known story about a swan is the fairy tale "[[The Ugly Duckling]]". Swans are frequently regarded as symbols of love or fidelity, owing to their enduring and seemingly monogamous pair bonds. Swans feature prominently in two [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] operas, ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' and ''[[Parsifal]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The opera novice: Wagner's Lohengrin |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/10098850/The-opera-novice-Wagners-Lohengrin.html |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=2 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203124010/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/10098850/The-opera-novice-Wagners-Lohengrin.html |archive-date=3 December 2016 |date=4 June 2013 |last1=Rahim |first1=Sameer }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The opera novice: Parsifal by Richard Wagner |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/9908198/The-opera-novice-Parsifal-by-Richard-Wagner.html |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=2 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220161837/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/9908198/The-opera-novice-Parsifal-by-Richard-Wagner.html |archive-date=20 December 2016 |date=5 March 2013 |last1=Rahim |first1=Sameer }}</ref>

===As food===
Swan meat was regarded as a luxury food in England during the reign of [[Elizabeth I]]. A recipe for baked swan survives from that time: "To bake a Swan[,] scald it and take out the bones, and parboil it, then season it very well with Pepper, Salt and Ginger, then lard it, and put it in a deep Coffin of Rye Paste with store of Butter, close it and bake it very well, and when it is baked, fill up the Vent-hole with melted Butter, and so keep it; serve it in as you do the Beef-Pie."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/bake-swan-old-recipe.htm |title=Baked Swan. Old Elizabethan Recipe |publisher=elizabethan-era.org.uk |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027032709/http://elizabethan-era.org.uk/bake-swan-old-recipe.htm |archive-date=27 October 2010 }}</ref> Swans being raised for food were sometimes kept in [[swan pit]]s.

The ''[[Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady]]'', a religious [[confraternity]] that existed in [['s-Hertogenbosch]] in the [[late Middle Ages]], had "sworn members", also called "swan-brethren" because they used to donate a swan for the yearly banquet.

A common misconception holds that the British monarch owns all the swans in the [[United Kingdom]] and is uniquely permitted to eat them.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cleaver |first=Emily |date=July 31, 2017 |title=The Fascinating, Regal History Behind Britain's Swans |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fascinating-history-british-thrones-swans-180964249/ |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 2, 2017 |title=Little girl asks to borrow swan, Queen responds |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/little-girl-asks-to-borrow-swan-queen-responds/QRQ5RVSL6ZMWS2VGYMSTXVRWNQ/ |access-date=June 24, 2024 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]}}</ref>

===Heraldry===
{{gallery
|mode=packed
|height=160
|Accession of ten new countries to the European Union Reverse.jpg|A swan depicted on an [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Ireland)|Irish commemorative coin]] in celebration of its [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union|EU Council presidency]]
|Joutseno.vaakuna.svg|A swan pictured in the coat of arms of [[Joutseno]], a former municipality of [[South Karelia]], [[Finland]]
|Herb Łabędź 1.svg|[[Coat of arms]] of writer [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]'s family, a variant of the [[Polish heraldry|Polish–Lithuanian coat of arms]] "[[Łabędź coat of arms|Łabędź]]" ([[Polish language|Polish]] for "Swan")
|Horgen-blazon.svg|The flag of the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] municipality of [[Horgen]]; the swan symbolizes the town's location along the south bank of the [[Lake Zurich]] and its political status as the administrative capital of the [[Horgen District]].
|File:DEU Kreis Stormarn COA.svg|The [[Districts of Germany|District]] of [[Stormarn (district)|Stormarn]], in [[Schleswig-Holstein]], [[Germany]]
|File:Arms of Buckinghamshire County Council.svg|Coat of arms of the now-abolished [[Buckinghamshire County Council]]; a similar design is featured in the [[Flag of Buckinghamshire|historic county's flag]].
|File:Arms_of_Swanage.svg|Coat of arms of [[Swanage]], [[Dorset]], [[England]]
|File:Coat of arms of Western Australia.svg|Coat of arms of [[Western Australia]], with a [[black swan]].
}}

===Ancient Greece and Rome===
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]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |title=Swan |date=2008 |publisher=Reaktion |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-349-9 |page=70}}</ref> Four different men ([[Cycnus (son of Apollo)|Cycnus]], [[Cycnus (son of Poseidon)|Cycnus]], [[Cycnus (son of Ares)|Cycnus]], and [[Cycnus (son of Sthenelus)|Cycnus]]) are said to have been transformed into swans by the gods.

Other references in classical literature include the belief that, upon death, the mute swan would sing beautifully — hence the phrase "[[swan song]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=What is the origin of the phrase 'Swan song'? |url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/swan-song.html |publisher=phrases.org.uk |access-date=2 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205093619/http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/swan-song.html |archive-date=5 December 2016 }}</ref>

The mute swan is one of [[Apollo]]'s sacred birds, associated both with light and with the concept of a "swan song". Apollo is often shown riding a chariot pulled by, or made of, swans during his ascension from [[Delos]].

In the second century, the Roman poet [[Juvenal]] made a sarcastic reference to a good woman being a "rare bird, as rare on earth as a black swan" (black swans being completely unknown in the Northern Hemisphere until [[Dutch people|Dutch]] explorers reached Australia in the 1600s), from which comes the Latin phrase ''{{Wikt-lang|la|rara avis}}'' ("rare bird").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |title=Swan |date=2008 |publisher=Reaktion |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-349-9 |page=27}}</ref>

===Irish lore and poetry===
The Irish legend of the [[Children of Lir]] is about a stepmother who transformed her children into swans for 900 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Fate of the Children of Lir |url=http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/lir.html |website=ancienttexts.org |access-date=2 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904192107/http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/lir.html |archive-date=4 September 2016 }}</ref>

In the legend ''[[Tochmarc Étaíne|The Wooing of Etain]]'', the king of the [[Sidhe]] ([[Subterranea (geography)|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. The swan has recently been depicted on an [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Ireland)#2004 coinage|Irish commemorative coin]].

Swans are also present in Irish literature in the poetry of [[W. B. Yeats]]; [[The Wild Swans at Coole (poem)|"The Wild Swans at Coole"]] has a heavy focus on the mesmerising characteristics of the swan. Yeats also recounts the myth of Leda and the Swan in [[Leda and the Swan#In poetry|the poem of the same name]].

===Nordic lore===
In [[Norse mythology]], two swans 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 [[Finnish literature|Finnish]] [[Epic poetry|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 the ''Kalevala'', with the second piece entitled ''[[Swan of Tuonela]]'' ''(Tuonelan joutsen)''. Today, five flying swans are the symbol of the [[Nordic countries]]; the whooper swan (''Cygnus cygnus'') is the national bird of Finland,<ref>{{cite web |title=Whooper Swan |url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/current_top_10/whooper_swan.cfm |website=wwf.panda.org |access-date=2 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203060741/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/current_top_10/whooper_swan.cfm |archive-date=3 December 2016  }}</ref> and the mute swan is the national bird of [[Denmark]].<ref>{{cite web |title=BIRDS OF DENMARK |url=http://www.birdlist.org/denmark.htm |website=birdlist.org |access-date=2 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305001210/http://www.birdlist.org/denmark.htm |archive-date=5 March 2017 }}</ref>

===''Swan Lake'' ballet===
The ballet ''[[Swan Lake]]'' is one of the most canonical [[classical ballet]]s. Based on the 1875–76 score by [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], the most promulgated choreographic version was created by [[Marius Petipa]] and [[Lev Ivanov]] (1895), the premiere of which was danced by the [[Mariinsky Ballet|Imperial Ballet]] at the [[Mariinsky Theatre]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. The ballet's lead dual roles of Odette (white swan)/Odile (black swan) represent good and evil,<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/arts/dance/odette-odile-in-swan-lake.html|title = All About Odette, Tchaikovsky's Swan Queen|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 12 June 2018|last1 = MacAulay|first1 = Alastair|access-date = 31 July 2019|archive-date = 31 July 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190731233300/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/arts/dance/odette-odile-in-swan-lake.html|url-status = live}}</ref> and they are among the most challenging roles created in Romantic classical ballet. The ballet is included in the repertories of ballet companies worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanrabimov/2017/04/16/the-swan-is-really-a-phoenix/#44ef6e663959|title = Inside Swan Lake: Why the Classic Ballet is Truly Timeless|website = [[Forbes]]|access-date = 2019-07-31|archive-date = 2019-07-31|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190731233321/https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanrabimov/2017/04/16/the-swan-is-really-a-phoenix/#44ef6e663959|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Christianity===
[[File:Hug-lin-pi.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Saint [[Hugh of Lincoln]] with a swan]]
A swan is one of the attributes of St. [[Hugh of Lincoln]], based on the story of a swan that was devoted to him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |title=Swan |date=2008 |publisher=Reaktion |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-349-9 |page=97}}</ref>

===Spanish language literature===
In [[Latin American literature]], the [[Nicaragua]]n poet [[Rubén 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 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).

===Hinduism===
{{See also|Hamsa (bird)}}
In [[Hinduism]], swans are revered and likened to saintly persons who live in the world without attachment, much like a swan's feather stays dry in water. The [[Sanskrit]] word for swan is ''[[Hamsa (bird)|hamsa]]'' and the "Raja Hamsam" or the Royal Swan is the vehicle of the [[Devi]] [[Saraswati]], which symbolises the ''Sattva Guna'' ("purity par excellence"). The swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. Therefore, Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is seen riding the swan because the swan thus symbolizes ''Viveka'', i.e. prudence and discrimination between the good and the bad or between the eternal and the transient; this is seen as a great quality, as shown by this [[Sanskrit]] verse:
{| style="width=100%;"
|width=50% valign=top|
:{{lang|sa-Latn|haṁsaḥ śveto bakaḥ śvetaḥ ko bhedo bakahaṁsayoḥ ।}}
:{{lang|sa-Latn|kṣīranīraviveke tu haṁso haṁsaḥ bako bakaḥ ॥}}
|width=50% valign=top|
:The swan is white, the crane is white, what is the difference between the swan and the crane?
:During discriminating between water and milk, the swan is a swan while the crane is a crane!
|}

As mentioned several times in the [[Vedas|Vedic]] literature, persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities are sometimes called [[Paramahamsa]] ("Supreme 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 on [[Lake Manasarovar]] during the summer and to migrate to [[List of lakes of India|Indian lakes]] for the winter; they are also believed to possess some powers, such as the ability to eat pearls.

===Indo-European religions===
Swans are intimately associated with the [[divine twins]] in [[Indo-European]] religions, and it is thought that in [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Proto-Indo-European times]], swans were a [[solar symbol]] associated with the divine twins and the original Indo-European [[sun goddess]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=O'Brien |first=Steven |title=Dioscuric Elements in Celtic and Germanic Mythology |journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies |volume=10 |issue=1 & 2 |year=1982 |pages=117–136 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Swan upping]] (an annual ceremony happening since the 16th century, in which [[mute swan]]s on the [[River Thames]] are rounded up, caught, ringed, and released, on behalf of the [[British Crown]], the [[Worshipful Company of Vintners]] and the [[Worshipful Company of Dyers]], each of which is entitled to one-third of the Thames swans).
* [[Royal Swans]] (swans given by Queen Elizabeth II to the city of [[Ottawa]] in 1967, and their progeny)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cygnus}}
{{Wiktionary|swan|swans}}
{{Wikiquote|Swans}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Swan |volume=26 |short=x}}
* 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] {{doi|10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=NIJIAAAAYAAJ&q=peyton%2F&pg=PA335 A History of British Birds]
* {{Cite NIE |wstitle=Swan |year=1905 |short=x}}
* {{Cite NSRW |wstitle=Swan |short=x}}

{{Odontoanserae|B.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q29564928}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Anserinae]]
[[Category:Extant Miocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Swans| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault]]