Mute Swans

Greetings Card (FSC Board)
Size: 175mm x 125mm
Card blank inside
Free P + P

Original Painting Medium: Pastel
Scientific Name: Cygnus olor
Region: U.K

Mute swans are frequently seen on small lakes in parks and private grounds across Europe. I wished to portray these beautiful white, majestic birds against the-deep blue of the pastel paper.

Native to central Asia the mute swan has been reared in a semi-domesticated state since the time of the Ancient Greeks. In England, all mute swans belong to the Crown, a relationship extending back to the 12th century.

The males, known as a cob, are an especially impressive sight when in pursuit of rival males. Curving the S-shaped neck onto their back and raising their wings to make themselves appear larger, they appear to glide without effort and with great speed across the water.

The female is known as a ‘pen’, and her downy young are able to swim immediately but will often climb onto the parent’s backs to rest. The grey-brown cygnets generally remain with the adults until the following season.

Over the years the number of swans has declined.  Many die from lead-poisoning through accidental ingestion of lead weights lost or discarded by anglers. One recent survey found 228 such lead weights per square metre of sediment. Sadly, some swans are also injured and killed by watercraft, dog bites, from collisions with electric overhead power cables, and more recently Avian Flu.