Mervyn 1532Lobo wrote: <<When the question is swans, it is always a mute one. The reason being that the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland owns all of those.>> Clarification: Not so. She lays claim only to the mute swan species Cygnus olor in open water. In England. "" The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. . It is native to much of Europe ans Asia and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America and Australsia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less vocal than other swan species.."" """According to custom, Britain's sovereign owns all unmarked, mute swans in open water, but the queen now exercises the right only on stretches of the Thames and its nearby tributaries.""" (Presumably the monoply arose from the need to maintain the kingly repasts of swan flesh.) Certainly not elsewhere. I, Nunes
