Swan Bird

Carl Orff's cantata, Carmina Burana (and presumably also the collection of poetry upon which it is based) includes a text describing the roasting (and serving) of a swan as described from the swan's point of view.
In the United Kingdom there is a popular belief that all swans are the property of the reigning Monarch. This belief arises from the Act of Swans passed by the English Parliament in 1482. In fact the right to ownership of swans was restricted by that Act to landowners who had freehold valued at 5 marks (£3-13-4) and who thus had the right to mark swans on their land. Unrestricted and unmarked Mute Swans on open water were preserved to the King. Today this right is exercised only on certain stretches of the River Thames and some of its tributaries between Windsor and Abingdon. Contrary to popular belief this Act has never applied to Scotland or Ireland.