Over the weekend my son, Wynston, set out to make and finish two swan wooden puzzles. He wants to get them in the mail to his two favorite aunts in Montana and Chicago. Once put together and glued, he set out to painting. When it came to the beaks, he then decided we needed to jump online and find out more about the coloring and look for his project completion. Along the way we learned some interesting word facts and found wonderful pictures that I wanted to share here.
Wikipedia had the following informative things to say:
Etymology and terminology --
The word "swan" is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing), whence Latin derives sonus (sound). (Webster's New World Dictionary) Young swans are known as cygnets, from the Latin word for swan, cygnus. An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen.
They swim on top of the water and eat plants off the bottom of ponds, lakes, or oceans. They also eat insects and other small animals. Swans can also fly.
There are two species of swan native to North America — the trumpeter and the tundra — and both are migratory. Tundra swans, as the name implies, spend their summer breeding season in the distant north, close to the Arctic circle. By early fall they are on the move, working their way south along the Atlantic seaboard and other major flyways. The birds on the Atlantic don't travel all that much farther south — they often winter along the coast of the Carolinas.
On a saddening note: I did find a lot of information about hunting permits. It is hard for me to imagine these as game, but the facts can also be found in wide world web.
For the embroidery enthusiast I located the following pattern:
While researching crafts online about swans, I came across this beautiful picture of a swan lace. Another craft I have never heard of but so inspiring just the same.
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