Swan if a mate dies, the remaining swan will take up with another. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight. The English word 'swan', akin to the German "Schwan", Dutch "zwaan" and Swedish "svan", is derived from Indo-European root "*swen" (to sound, to sing). Young swans are known as "swanlings" or as "cygnets"; the latter derives via Old French "cigne" or "cisne" (diminutive suffix -"et" "little") from the Latin word "", a variant form of "cycnus" "swan", itself from the Greek "kýknos", a word of the same meaning. An adult male is a "cob", from Middle
Alfred Swan Alfred Swan Alfred Julius Swan was a Russian composer and musicologist active in the early to mid-twentieth century. He specialized in Russian liturgical music. His writings include "Russian Music" and an English translation of Nikolai Medtner's "The Muse and the Fashion." His memoirs were published in 1965: "Recollections of Young Years". His nephew was the British composer and musical entertainer Donald Swann. Alfred, called Alia by his family, was born in St. Petersburg in the late 19th century. He was the eldest son of Alfred Robert Swann, a Russian clerk of English descent, and Sophie Lorentzen, daughter of veterinary surgeon