ETYM AS. swan; akin to Dutch zwaan, Old High Germ. swan, German schwan, Icel. svanr, Swed. svan, Dan. svane; and perhaps to Eng. sound something audible.
Stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult.
Any of several large, long-necked, aquatic, web-footed birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes ducks and geese.
Species include the Old World mute swan Cygnus olor, with all-white plumage, now introduced in parks worldwide, and the black swan of Australia, C. atratus. The North American trumpeter swan C. buccinator is the largest, with a wingspan of 2.4 m/8 ft. This species was nearly extinct by 1900, and although numbers have recovered, it is still endangered. Pairing is generally for life, and the young are called cygnets. + prikaži više