T L Swan Popular Books
T L Swan Biography & Facts
Swans are birds of the genus Cygnus within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six living and many extinct species of swan; in addition, there is a species known as the coscoroba swan which is no longer considered one of the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, although "divorce" sometimes occurs, particularly following nesting failure, and if a mate dies, the remaining swan will take up with another. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight. Taxonomy The genus Cygnus was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalist François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault. The English word swan, akin to the German Schwan, Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, is derived from the Indo-European root *swen(H) ('to sound, to sing'). Young swans are known as cygnets, or, less commonly, as swanlings. The former derives from Old French cigne or cisne (diminutive suffix et 'little'), from the Latin word cygnus, a variant form of cycnus 'swan', itself from the Greek κύκνος kýknos, a word of the same meaning. An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen. A group of swans is called a bevy or a wedge. Description Swans are the largest extant members of the waterfowl family Anatidae and are among the largest flying birds. The largest living species, including the mute swan, trumpeter swan, and whooper swan, can reach a length of over 1.5 m (59 in) and weigh over 15 kg (33 lb). Their wingspans can be over 3.1 m (10 ft). Compared to the closely related geese, they are much larger and have proportionally larger feet and necks. Adults also have a patch of unfeathered skin between the eyes and bill. The sexes are alike in plumage, but males are generally bigger and heavier than females. The biggest species of swan ever was the extinct Cygnus falconeri, a flightless giant swan known from fossils found on the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily. Its disappearance is thought to have resulted from extreme climate fluctuations or the arrival of superior predators and competitors. The Northern Hemisphere species of swan have pure white plumage, but the Southern Hemisphere species are mixed black and white. The Australian black swan (Cygnus atratus) is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings; the chicks of black swans are light grey. The South American black-necked swan has a white body with a black neck. The legs of most swans are typically a dark blackish-grey colour, except for the South American black-necked swan, which has pink legs. Bill colour varies: the four subarctic species have black bills with varying amounts of yellow, and all the others are patterned red and black. Although birds do not have teeth, swans, like other Anatidae, have beaks with serrated edges that look like small jagged "teeth" as part of their beaks used for catching and eating aquatic plants and algae, but also molluscs, small fish, frogs, and worms. In the mute swan and black-necked swan, both sexes have a fleshy lump at the base of their bills on the upper mandible, known as the knob, which is larger in males and is condition dependent, changing seasonally. Distribution and movements Swans are generally found in temperate environments, rarely occurring in the tropics. Four (or five) species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, one species is found in Australia, one extinct species was found in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, and one species is distributed in southern South America. They are absent from tropical Asia, Central America, northern South America and the entirety of Africa. One species, the mute swan, has been introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand. Several species are migratory, either wholly or partly so. The mute swan is a partial migrant, being resident over areas of Western Europe but wholly migratory in Eastern Europe and Asia. The whooper swan and tundra swan are wholly migratory, and the trumpeter swans are almost entirely migratory. There is some evidence that the black-necked swan is migratory over part of its range, but detailed studies have not established whether these movements are long or short-range migration. Behaviour Swans feed in water and on land. They are almost entirely herbivorous, although they may eat small amounts of aquatic animals. In the water, food is obtained by up-ending or dabbling, and their diet is composed of the roots, tubers, stems and leaves of aquatic and submerged plants. A familiar behavior of swans is that they mate for life, and typically bond even before they reach sexual maturity. Trumpeter swans, for example, can live as long as 24 years and only start breeding at the age of 4–7, forming monogamous pair bonds as early as 20 months. "Divorce", though rare, does occur; one study of mute swans shows a 3% rate for pairs that breed successfully and 9% for pairs that do not. The pair bonds are maintained year-round, even in gregarious and migratory species like the tundra swan, which congregate in large flocks in the wintering grounds. Swans' nests are on the ground near water and about a metre (3') across. Unlike many other ducks and geese, the male helps with the nest construction, and will also take turns incubating the eggs. Alongside the whistling ducks, swans are the only anatids that will do this. The average egg size (for the mute swan) is 113 × 74 mm (4+1⁄2 x 3 in), weighing 340 g (12 oz), in a clutch size of 4 to 7, and an incubation period of 34–45 days. Swans are highly protective of their nests. They will viciously attack anything that they perceive as a threat to their chicks, including humans. One man was suspected to have drowned in such an attack. Swans' intraspecific aggressive behaviour is shown more frequent than interspecific behaviour for food and shelter. The aggression with other species is shown more in Bewick's swans. Systematics and evolution Evidence suggests that the genus Cygnus evolved in Europe or western Eurasia during the Miocene, spreading all over the Northern Hemisphere until the Pliocene. When the southern species branched off is not known. The mute swan is closest to the Southern Hemisphere Cygnus; its habits of carrying the neck curved (not straight) and the wings fluffed (not flush) as well as its bill colour and knob indicate that its closest living relative is the black swan. Given the biogeography and appearance of the subgenus Olor, it seems likely that these are of a more recent origin, as evidenced shows by their modern ranges (which were mostly uninhabitable during the last ice age) and great similarity between the taxa. Phylogeny Species Genus Cygnus The coscoroba swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) from South America, the only species in its genus, is apparently not a true s.... Discover the T L Swan popular books. Find the top 100 most popular T L Swan books.
Best Seller T L Swan Books of 2024
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Empire
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Home Movies
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Cartel
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Pleasure Haven
Genevieve AshAn erotic novella with mixed themes including spanking, female submission and role play.Trish lives a quiet, happy life until she meets Josh, and he turns her world upside down. Wo...
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A Vamp About Town
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Shadows Deep
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Kingpin
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Corrupted Kingdom
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The Lady Is A Vamp
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Sated
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First Times
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A Demon in My View
Ruth RendellArthur Johnson doesn't look like a murderous psychopath; he is a mildmannered man who has never known how to talk to women. Years of loneliness has warped his mind, turning his des...
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Restless Spirit
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Control
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Songs for Simple Hearts
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Sex in the Air
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The Best of Elizabeth Cage
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Make Me An Offer
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Dirty Little Lies
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Pleasure Island
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Clarissa
J. ManxAn erotic short story with femdom themes from Xcite Books.A relationship develops between a taxi driver and an air hostess who he regularly drives to the airport. During the trips,...
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Assignment Kilimanjaro
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Awakening
Elene SallingerThis is the story of Claire Ryan and Evan Lang. 35yearold Claire joins a local book club for romance readers in order to get over the breakdown of her 10year relationship, there sh...
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Growing Pleasures
Jodie Johnson-SmithJodie JohnsonSmith, writer of Watchers, is back with a brand new sexy title!Stuck in a relationship with her belittling boyfriend, Giles, Emma hopes to land work at Pleasure Paradi...
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Beautiful Shadows
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Passion Rooms
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The Gatecrasher
Stephen AlbrowA collection of five erotic stories with mixed BDSM, lesbian and submission themes brought to you by Xcite Books, winners of ETO's Best Erotic Book Brand 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013....
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Yes Boss
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Trial By Blood
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The Book Club
J. ManxAfter a oneoff raunchy encounter in Norway with another married couple, Joe and Helen have been keen to experience another since they returned home. The opportunity finally arrives...
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The Red Scare
Lynn LakeAn erotic novella based in 1950's America with mixed themes including girl on girl action, mystery/suspense and BDSM.1957, Washington, DC. Sleazy PI, Megan McCarthy, is hired by pu...
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Dancing on the Edge
Jack StevensRod Brookes is young, handsome and a highly successful 'exotic dancer'. He loves his work and he loves the guys he picks up at work. The only black spot in his perfect life is a my...
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Nymphomania
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Ice Commander
Roger Frank SelbyDeep space exploration might seem like a glamorous profession, but as Lieutenant Frank Carter knows all too well, it can be a lonely job which demands both discipline and instinct....
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Meeting Mr Hot
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Sapphic Secrets
Kyoko ChurchLabelled a nymphomaniac because of her passion, Lillianne Draper is forced to spend her days restrained. She has managed to banish the nefarious Dr Samms, who has watched her const...
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Inspired by Night
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Power Games
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The Payback
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All Right On The Night
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The Reclining Lady
Harriet FitzherbertAfter Rachel's Aunt Maggie dies, she has problems getting a fair price for the woman's collection of antiques, until art curator Hannah steps in. With her red hair and figure to di...
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Punishment on the Fourth
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Random Acts of Lust
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One Final Night
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