Whooper Swan

Overview

The whooper swan, Cygnus cygnus, is a large northern hemisphere swan and the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Length 140–165 cm and wingspan 205–275 cm, with weights typically between 7.4 and 14.0 kg.
• Adults are pure white but may have rusty-yellow staining on the head and neck from tannin- or iron-rich water; juveniles are uniform pale grey to greyish-brown.
• Bill pattern always shows more yellow than black, distinguishing it from Bewick's swan; all ages have shorter, rounded tails compared to mute swans.
• Deep, honking call resembling geese, described as strident and resonant with a 'kloo-kloo-kloo' rhythm.

Habitat

Breeds in the subarctic Eurosiberian taiga zone and is rare in northern Scotland and Ireland. It migrates to wintering sites in southern Europe and eastern Asia, with Icelandic breeders often overwintering in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The species is an occasional vagrant to the Indian subcontinent and western North America.

Did you know?

A flock detected near Scotland in 1967 reached an altitude of 8,200 m, the highest recorded for any bird over Britain, using a jet stream to cross 1,100 km in about seven hours despite temperatures of -48°C.