Swans, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1999
Photograph by Jim Richardson
Brooding skies cast a lavender glow on a flock of mute swans gliding across a crag-ringed loch in Edinburgh, Scotland. As their name suggests, mute swans are usually silent, limited by a straight trachea. However, they occasionally snort, hiss, or bark. The graceful Cygnus olor communicates mostly through visual displays and postures.
