From Opus

Revision as of 15:10, 15 March 2009

Photo by Paul Tavares
Location: Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada

Alternative name: Whistling Swan

Cygnus columbianus

Includes Bewick's Swan

Photo by praby

Identification

48-55" (1.2-1.4 m).

• Large
• All white
• Black bill, usually with small yellow spot in front of eye.

Similar species

Trumpeter Swan is larger and lacks yellow on bill.

Holds neck straight up, unlike Mute Swan, which bends its neck in a graceful curve.

Distribution

Birds from European Russia east to the Taymyr Peninsula migrate across the White Sea and Baltic to winter in North-Western Europe from Denmark and north Germany to Belgium and in parts of England and Ireland. Small numbers winter in north-west France and in the Camargue. Main passage periods are March-April and October-November. Wintering sites are usually traditionally used areas but in severe weather there may be considerable wandering. In the Western Palearctic breeds only on the coasts of Arctic Russia, on Ostrov Kolguyev and Novaya Zemlya.

Vagrancy

Recorded as a vagrant north to Svalbard and Bear Island, to most mainland European countries and south to Cyprus, North Africa and Jordan.

Taxonomy

Includes subspecies bewickii which some have elevated to species status as Bewick's Swan (see this thread). The North American form is then known as Whistling Swan.

Habitat

Breeds on pools and lakes in areas of open swampy tundra, sometimes along slow-flowing rivers or on sheltered sea-coasts. On passage on lakes and rivers, sometimes on coasts, and in winter in wetland areas with open water and often flooded fields. These long-established wintering grounds may not be occupied for the entire winter but may be used as a base from which the birds look for new feeding areas.

Behaviour

Nesting: 4-6 creamy-white eggs placed on a large mound of grass and moss on an island or beside a marshy tundra lake.

Vocalisation

External Links