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GORP Trivia
We regret to announce that we've discontinued GORP's trivia section. Check out our Trivia archives for questions and answers about the world's people, places, and things.
Pens, Cobs, and Cygnets
The Question:
The males are known as cobs, the females as pens. Their offspring are cygnets.
In the early part of this century, these birds were thought extinct in the lower 48. But in 1933, biologists traveling through southwest Montana spotted a small flock of 60 some-odd fowl. Within two years, their home at Red Rock Lakes was officially protected as a refuge, and their numbers began growing. Now several hundred summer at the refuge and the population swells to a couple thousand during the colder months.
J. J. Audubon eloquently described how the sight of these creatures filled him with happiness and freedom:
"For a perfect conception of their beauty and elegance, you must observe them when they are not aware of your proximity, as they glide over the waters of some secluded inland pond. The neck, which at other times is held stiffly upright, moves in graceful curves, now bent forward, now inclined backwards over the body. The head, with an extended scooping movement, dips beneath the water, then with a sudden effort it throws a flood over its back and wings, while the sparkling globules roll off like so many large pearls. The bird then shakes its wings, beats the water, and as if giddy with delight, shoots away, gliding over and beneath the surface of the stream with surprising agility and grace."
What are these magnificent creatures?
The Answer:
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