Swan Song

Posted by Bruce Kahl on March 30, 2000

In Reply to: Swansong and thornbirds posted by diane on March 30, 2000

: I understand concept of swansong but do swans really sing when they die? how did this concept originate? also, are there such things a thornbirds or is this merely a creation from the mind of a novelist?

The whistling, or trumpeting, swans are noted for their loud and sonorous cry, due to complex convolutions of the windpipe. In literature the swan was fabled to sing a melodious song, especially at the time of its death.