Questions I Should Know The Answer To But Don't: Vol. 1

Q: Why do swans have such abnormally long necks?

A: After much searching on the internet (read: a quick stab at Google and a half-hearted Wikipedia trawl), I've come up with the conclusion that it's evolutionary.
No, it's not a very sophisticated answer. The full answer (which ties in too much with Darwinian theory, and you can read up on that in your own time, so sorry if I'm brief) is that at some point, what WAS a swan had an abnormally large neck. This enabled it to feed on the roots and plant life on the bottom of the pond just that little bit easier. That then meant it became a lot more active and nourished than the others, and was able to survive to spread its seed (and hence the long-neck genes) on to its offspring, eventually killing off the breed with the shorter, less functional neck.

Yeah. Swans have long necks to reach plant life at the bottom of the river without running out of breath/dying/both.

Oh, and an interesting(ish) factoid for you. The mute swan is not mute. It hisses, grunts, and barks. And all swans actually belong to the Queen.