Thursday, October 31, 2019
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Mute Swan
'A Polish type bird.' SC
Editors comments. I was not aware of a 'polish type' Mute Swan and asked Steve for more information, appended below. Thanks Steve.
The polish mute swan is a ‘pure white’ version of a mute swan. The legs and feet are a pinkish-grey colour instead of the usual black colour
A pigment deficiency of a gene in the sex chromosomes
is what causes the whiteness.
When a female mute swan inherits only one
melanin-deficient chromosome she will be a polish swan, whereas the male of the
same parents will be normal. If the next generation is produced by two of their
offspring the brood will contain numbers of both polish and normal cygnets of
either sex.
Polish swans were given their name when they were
imported from the Polish coast on the Baltic sea into London around about 1800.
Mistakenly thought to be a new species they were given the name ‘Cygnus
immutabilis’ (changeless swan).
Polish swans are not a different species of swan,
because they are mute swans.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Wednesday, October 09, 2019
Friday, October 04, 2019
Thursday, October 03, 2019
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)