Family - Anatidae Subfamily - Cygininae SWANS
Dec 29, 2015
NORTH AMERICAN SWAN CHARACTERISTICS
Long neck
Broad, flat bill
Sieve-like lamellae
Gray to black legs
Male larger than female
Front 3 toes webbed
Adult body white
• Found in temperate climate
• Up-end or dabble to feed on submerged and bottom vegetation in shallow lakes, ponds, estuaries
• Also eats aquatic animals
HABITAT & FOOD
• Large, heavy, thick-necked, knob-billed
• Adults white-bodied with bright orange bill and black face mask
• Neck often held in S-shaped curve especially when threatened
• Rides high in the water and cocks long pointed tail
MUTE SWAN (CYGNUS OLOR)ORIGINALLY FROM EUROPE
• Most likely swan to be found in urban or suburban ponds, parks as well as inlets, bays, and lagoons.
• Flight direct and in flocks flies in V formation
• Sound of wings beating can be heard some distance
• Varied calls including bugle sound, grunt, hisses, wheezes, and snorts
MUTE SWAN (CYGNUS OLOR)
• Smaller swan (52”)
• Bill black with yellow teardrop at base and distinct eye
• Slender short neck held straight up
• Bill concave in adults and slightly pink/swollen in immatures
• Breeds on tundra lakes and ponds near seacoasts; otherwise found in shallow ponds, rivers, bays, estuaries
• Migrates, nests, and forages in large flocks
• Direct fast flight with steady wing beats
• Voice varied from clear “kwoo” or “woo-ho” to wailing, hooting, barking, or baying sounds.
TUNDRA SWAN CYGNUS COLUMIANUS
• Large white swan with black legs and feet
• Bill black, wedge-shaped, and base seems to cover the eye
• Slouch-necked unless straightened in an alert position
TRUMPETER SWAN CYGNUS BUCCINATOR
• Breeds on northern forest lakes and ponds
• Forages on emergent vegetation and in aquatic habitats as well as grasslands
• Low pitched voice and nasal honking
• Immature higher pitched with toy trumpet sound
TRUMPETER SWAN CYGNUS BUCCINATOR
• L -60”; long neck, body, and bill with short roundish tail
• Adult’s bill is black from tip to middle and yellow from middle onto and under base; juvenile similar pattern but whitish base pinkish tip
WHOOPER SWANCYGNUS CYGNUS
WHOOPER SWAN CYGNUS, CYGNUS
• Has bred in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
• Habitat includes tundra lakes and marshes, open water, and agricultural fields
OTHER SWANS
• Black Swan – Cygnus atratus (Australian)
• Black-necked Swan – Cygnus melanocorypha (South America)
• Coscoroba Swan – Coscoroba coscoroba (South America)
• Australian wetlands habitats (fresh, brackish, and saltwater)
• Adult has sooty black body with hidden white flight feathers; juvenile is grayer
• Bill is red with a pale bar and tip
• Herbivorous feeder
BLACK SWAN
• Breeds in large colonies
• Monogamous breeder with shared incubation and rearing by the sexes
• In flight long neck and slow wing beat separates it from Magpie Goose
BLACK SWAN
• South American swan
• Adults: Black-necked, white bodied, gray bill with red knob. White stripe behind eye.
BLACK-NECKED SWANCYGNUS MELANOCORYPHA
• Habitat: freshwater marshes, lake shores, and lagoons
• Cygnets are light grey with black bill and feet.
• Parents may carry them on their backs until cygnets can swim on own.
BLACK-NECKED SWAN CYGNUS MELANCORYPHUS
• A South American swan
• White plumage with black tips
• Red beak, legs and feet
• Cygnet is brown and gray patches
• No black mask
• Small in size closer to goose
COSCOROBA SWAN COSCOROBA COSCOROBA
• Feeds on grass and aquatic plants
• Also eats mussels and fish
• Male guards female as she incubates eggs and the young until they fledge
COSCOROBA SWAN
REFERENCES
• A World Checklist of Birds by Burt L. Monroe, Jr. and Charles G. Sibley
• Pete Dunn’s Essential Field Guide Companion
• The Birdwatcher’s Companion to North American Birdlife by Christopher Leahy
• The Sibley Guide to Birdlife & Behavior edited by Chris Elphick, John B. Dunning, Jr., and David Allen Sibley
• The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Donald & Lillian Stokes
• Wikipedia online for South American and Australian Swans