‘Marriage’ swan song for Bewick

THE Bewick swan is an example to us all; it’s one of the world’s most monogamous birds.

News of a divorce in Britain, therefore, comes as a shock. Swans visiting the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Slimbridge are studied intensively. This winter, a bird which had been paired for the last two years, arrived with a new partner. It was assumed that the original mate had died and that the swan had remarried. Then the former spouse turned up. It, too, had a new partner. Julia Newth of the Trust told RTÉ’s Mooney Show that this is only the second divorce recorded among 4,000 pairings over a 60-year period. The former spouses have, so far, been ignoring each other.

First recognised in 1815, the species was named after Thomas Bewick, the famous bird artist, although he had no association with it. Telling the various kinds of swan apart can be tricky. The familiar ‘mute’ swan, present throughout the year, has a ‘Celtic’ S-shaped neck, and a black nose, known as the ‘berry’ over an orange bill. The Bewick, a winter visitor, has a more angular appearance; the neck is straight, there’s no berry and the bill is black with a yellow patch. The larger whooper swan, another migrant, is similar, but there’s more yellow than black on its bill.