From Opus

Photo by CurtMorgan
Jackson, Wyoming, USA

Cygnus buccinator

[edit] Identification

145–163 cm; females - 139–150 cm

• White plumage
• Long neck
• Pink-edged black bill
• Short black legs
  
• Cygnets are grey, moulting into adult plumage after the first year.

Photo by etow
Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area, Ohio, USA, November 2003

[edit] Distribution

Western North America

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Wetlands, large shallow ponds and lakes, wide slow rivers and marshes.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

The nest is a mound of vegetation on a small island. The 3-10 eggs are incubated by the female for around 35 days.

Juvenile
Photo by bobsofpa
National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, USA, September 2006

[edit] Diet

Their diet consists mainly of aquatic plants, which are usually reached by dabbling, also grass and grain in winter. Cygnet's diet is initially augmented by small crustaceans and insects.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: trumpet-like honk.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Wikipedia
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links