大象传媒

We鈥檙e so used to seeing swans in a park lake or a canal, that we sort of take them for granted. When you see them out here on the river it is an exquisite sight. It鈥檚 also a very successful sight, because we鈥檝e got adult here with eight cygnets - that鈥檚 a heck of a survival for one family. The name mute swan is basically a contradiction in terms because mute obviously means silent. The word swan, though, means noise, or sound. The fact of the matter is they鈥檙e not noisy, that bit is definitely true. Have a listen. All you can hear is these little tiny squeaks coming from the cygnets and every now and again an adult comes out with what can best be described as a wheeze. From that point of view, the mute bit, fine. So, where鈥檚 the sound? Well, it鈥檚 generally accepted that the sound is not the sound that they make with their beaks, it鈥檚 the sound they make with their wings as they fly. It鈥檚 referred to as whistling, but is like more of a throbbing noise. So that鈥檚 where we think the name swan came from.