Cygnus

Like stars in the sky swans are free spirits.....well at least in Scotland (according to Wikipedia).


In England there is a popular belief that all swans are the property of the reigning Monarch. This belief arises from the Act of Swans passed by the English Parliament in1482. In fact the right to ownership of swans was restricted by that Act to landowners who had freehold valued at 5 marks and who thus had the right to mark swans on their land. Unrestricted and unmarked Mute Swans on open water were preserved to the King. Today this right is exercised only on certain stretches of the River Thames and some of its tributaries between Windsor and Abingdon.[11] Contrary to popular belief this Act has never applied to Scotland or Ireland.