Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus Cygnus. The swans' close relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans usually mate for life, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure.
Swan Upping is the annual census of the swan population on stretches of the Thames in the counties of Middlesex, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. This historic ceremony dates from the twelfth century, when the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans. At that time swans were regarded as a delicious dish at banquets and feasts.
Out of all professional sports teams there are only two with the word Swan in their name. The AFL (Aussie Rules) team Sydney Swans and Welsh Premiership side Swansea, whose nickname is also the Swans.
The mute swan is the heaviest flying bird. There is some contention about whether certain Bustards are heavier than swans. In general a mute swan weighs around 11 to 16kg.
"Afterwards I wiped my tail with a hen, with a cock, with a pullet, with a calf's skin, with a hare, with a pigeon, with a cormorant, with an attorney's bag, with a montero, with a coif, with a falconer's lure. But, to conclude, I say and maintain, that of all torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders, tail-napkins, bunghole cleansers, and wipe-breeches, there is none in the world comparable to the neck of a goose, that is well downed, if you hold her head betwixt your legs. And believe me therein upon mine honour, for you will thereby feel in your nockhole a most wonderful pleasure, both in regard of the softness of the said down and of the temporate heat of the goose, which is easily communicated to the bum-gut and the rest the inwards, in so far as to come even to the regions of the heart and brains." (from Gargantua by François Rabelais, 1534)
Sources:
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rabela.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan
http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/SwanUpping/SwanUpping.aspx
http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=23250&start=0&sid=986ecf28ee0e188370170638d8dd38f5
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