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- Cygnus olor
Identification
- L. 127-152 cm (50-60 in)
- W. 208-238 cm (82-94 in)
- Wt. 5500-14300 g (12-31 lbs)
Adult
- White plumage
- Bright orange bill with black knob at base
- Male larger, with larger knob
Juvenile
- Dull, greyish-brown
- Grey bill without knob
A native of northern and central Eurasia. It is a common resident throughout lowland British Isles, north and central France and east to Denmark and Germany. A summer visitor to southern Norway, southern Sweden and extreme south Finland and Poland and the Baltic States. Also breeds around the northern shores of the Black and Caspian Seas and in parts of Turkey.
In the west most are descended from introduced or feral birds and in Britain especially, live in close association with man. Bred ferally in Iceland in the 1960s but extinct since 1977.
Vagrant to Iceland and the Faroes, Morocco, Spain and the Canary Islands, Mediterranean islands and the Azores.
Birds found anywhere else in the world, have been intoduced as an ornamental species in parks and estates. In North America escaped birds have established feral populations in many areas, particularly around the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic coast. Their aggressive behaviour can threaten native waterfowl species and some states are trying to control this species
Taxonomy
Habitat
Town parks, flooded gravel-pits, reservoirs and natural wetlands. Slow-flowing rivers and large, shallow lakes, often in estuaries and on sheltered coasts out of the breeding season.
Behaviour
Often swims with it's wings arched and it's neck in an S-curve, giving it a very graceful appearance
It is a very aggressive bird, especially during the breeding season
Breeding
The Mute Swan mates for life, but if one of the pair should die, the other will remate
Diet
Includes aquatic plants, by tipping up like a dabbling duck.
Vocalisation
Generally silent, but does make hissing and grunting noises
<flashmp3>Cygnus olor (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
External Links
