how much more robust they seemed - our black swans are bigger, but they're skinner, and their necks are longer and thinner
Having worked with a variety of waterfowl I don't think of any adult swan of any species as a light weight including your black swans. They are all powerful, and capable of inflicting considerable damage with beak and wings, and take considerable strength to restrain. Heh. There speaks the voice of having worked banding wild waterfowl. It's quite the workout even if one leaves aside the "extra" of being copiously shat upon. Glamorous! ;D
I couldn't easily see individual feathers on the neck of breast of the white swan I saw
In my experience it is only mute swans which present that appearance of flawless, seamless white. Most other species show the feathers a bit more even when they are prime condition.
Have you seen the video of the waterfowl wintering at an open lake somewhere in Siberia? As beautiful as it was, the din was incredible (and entirely normal to me as I've been around large congregations of Canada geese). If you have't seen it I'll try to hunt it down for you because I think you'd enjoy it.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2014-04-02 02:08 am (UTC)Having worked with a variety of waterfowl I don't think of any adult swan of any species as a light weight including your black swans. They are all powerful, and capable of inflicting considerable damage with beak and wings, and take considerable strength to restrain. Heh. There speaks the voice of having worked banding wild waterfowl. It's quite the workout even if one leaves aside the "extra" of being copiously shat upon. Glamorous! ;D
I couldn't easily see individual feathers on the neck of breast of the white swan I saw
In my experience it is only mute swans which present that appearance of flawless, seamless white. Most other species show the feathers a bit more even when they are prime condition.
Have you seen the video of the waterfowl wintering at an open lake somewhere in Siberia? As beautiful as it was, the din was incredible (and entirely normal to me as I've been around large congregations of Canada geese). If you have't seen it I'll try to hunt it down for you because I think you'd enjoy it.
Edited to add: found it!