Large Mature 19Thc French Taxidermy Whooper Swan C.1891

The large mature taxidermy whooper swan (Cygnus Cygnus), posed attentively standing with wings closed, mounted to a thick stained wooden base with the original small hand written label in French translating to “Wild Swan, killed on the Garhuy(?), Winter 1891” and surviving in beautiful original condition. The specimen is presented in good overall condition considering its 134 years, with expected discolouring to the feathers and some small amount of ruffling and feather loss. Overall, she is very much of the country house faded grandeur aesthetic and presents very well. One foot is missing one talon and there is some old historic worm to the base. The Whooper Swan is one of the larger swan species, with adults having all-white plumage. Like the smaller Bewick’s Swans, which occur in the same wintering areas, adults have a characteristic black-and-yellow bill, but in the Whoopers the yellow markings extends in a wedge-like shape from the base to or beyond the nostrils. The whooper swan is a rare breeding bird in the UK, but has much larger populations that spend winter here after a long journey from Iceland. It has more yellow on its yellow-and-black bill than the Bewick's Swan. Historically Whooper Swan numbers were seriously reduced by human persecution during the 19th and 20th centuries, with breeding ranges reduced to areas above 67ON during the first half of the 20th century, but populations increased slowly following bans on hunting and egg collection. An authentic and majestic antique example which has survived remarkably well.