For years, I never really thought too much about swans. As far as I was concerned they were pretty birds and nothing more. Then I went to England and actually met some of these beasts and now they’re the only thing I can think about. 

The thing that surprised me the most was how incredibly huge they are. The remarkable thing is that unlike ostriches and penguins they aren’t flightless birds, these behemoths are capable of taking to the sky. It seems impossible. Seriously, they seem to be roughly the same size as a lamb, they’re thicc. With a wing span that can reach almost 10 feet, watching a swan take off is quite a sight to behold. Watching them land is a little terrifying, especially if they’re close to you. That’s 35 pounds of bird coming down from the sky. 

Once you start to accept that swans are essentially flying tanks, you can focus on the otherworldly neck they have. Watching a swan feed is a truly remarkable experience, as they crane their neck into totally unnatural positions as they search for food. 

That neck isn’t just useful for reaching hard to get morsels of food, but it also gives them a graceful look. Can you imagine how goofy a swan would look with a short neck? They’d just look like obese pigeons and nobody, absolutely nobody would want to get a tattoo of one of them. 

There’s romance that goes along with swans. In part because of their elegance, but also because they mate for life. One of the cutest things about swans is that they often choose their partner well before they even reach breeding age. That’s the bird equivalent of dating and eventually marrying your best friend from childhood. It’s sorta sickeningly sweet, isn’t it? 

Anyway, as you’ll see in the gallery below, swans are beautiful creatures who should be celebrated! I’m a fool for not recognizing their grandeur until now, but you don’t need to make the same mistake.