Swan

The mighty white birds on the lakes in our parks and cities are easily recognized by their bright orange beaks.

Characteristics

What do mute swans look like?

Mute swans are among the largest flying birds: They are about 150 centimeters long, have a wingspan of 240 centimeters, and weigh up to 13 kilograms. Their plumage is bright white, the neck is often colored beige to yellowish. Young mute swans are grey-brown in color.

They are easily identified by their orange-red, black-tipped beak and hump-like ridge at the base of the beak. They also owe their name to this hump. It is significantly larger in males than in females. The swans have webbed feet, which are grey-black to flesh-colored so that they can swim swiftly and dexterously on the water.

Where do mute swans live?

Originally, mute swans were native to Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe and some areas of Central and East Asia. However, they have often been released in parks on lakes, are natural, and can therefore be found today throughout Europe as well as in North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Mute swans belong to the duck family, i.e. they are swamp and water birds. Originally they lived in swampy and water-rich areas. Today they can be found almost everywhere on ponds, lakes, and slow-flowing waters. They need bodies of water where many aquatic plants thrive so they can find enough food.

What types of mute swans are there?

There are different types of swans: next to the mute swan, the whooper swan is the best known. There are also black-necked swans, trumpeter swans, and miniature swans. The black counterpart of the mute swan is the black swan: it is 110 to 140 centimeters long and weighs four to 8.5 kilograms. Its plumage and legs are black, only the wing feathers are white – but they are usually hidden between the other feathers. The beak is bright red with a white band at the tip.

Black swans are native to Australia and are only occasionally seen in zoos or parks. Unlike our mute swans, they are not migratory birds. In addition, males and females take turns incubating and they often build their nests in colonies.

How old do mute swans get?

Mute swans can get quite old: they live up to 19 years.

Behave

How do mute swans live?

Mute swans used to be migratory birds and would travel up to 1000 kilometers in autumn to overwinter in milder regions. Because the swans are mostly descended from animals that have been released into the wild today and are only semi-wild, they stay on large lakes and rivers that remain ice-free in winter.

They find enough food there and have also gotten used to the fact that they are fed by many people and thus have enough to eat even in the cold season. However, some swans still roam and migrate to large bodies of water, for example, to molt when they change their plumage.

Mute swans have a territory that they defend fiercely against intruders, especially during the breeding season. People sometimes feel this too when they get too close to a swan or its nest and the young. The swan then hisses loudly after the intruder and drives him away with violent flaps of its wings. This is not without its dangers: mute swans are so powerful that they can really hurt a person with a flap of their wings.

If another swan enters the territory, the territory owner swims threateningly towards the opponent with his neck stretched back. Eventually, they grab each other’s necks and try to push each other away. It also happens that the two hurt each other. Swans usually breed alone in pairs, but sometimes in colonies.

However, swans that live in colonies and regions with many other swans give birth to significantly fewer young: Because there are often quarrels between the neighbors, a relatively large number of eggs are destroyed. This ensures that not too many animals live in one area and that everyone can find enough to eat.

Friends and foes of the mute swan

Mute swans hardly have any enemies in nature because they are very good at defending themselves and gaining respect. Attackers chase them away with powerful wing beats and pursue them with amazing speed, even on land. In the past, mute swans were threatened by humans: the birds’ eggs were collected. As a result, swans used to be rather rare.

How do mute swans reproduce?

Mute swans live in monogamy. That is, they remain with a single partner throughout their lives. The mating season begins in winter. Males and females then swim close together on the water and perform elegant movements with their necks: they swivel their heads sideways, bow to each other, and often dip their beaks into the water over their partner’s neck.

When the female holds her neck flat over the water, she shows the male that she is ready to mate. The male then climbs onto his back and uses his beak to hold on to the female’s neck, which is pushed underwater. After mating, the female alone builds a huge nest of plant matter. It has a diameter of up to two meters and is up to 50 centimeters high. The nest is built on the shore or on small islands in the water where it is particularly well protected.

A female mute swan lays about five to seven light gray-green eggs that are 115 millimeters (4.5 in) long. Incubation lasts 35 days in May and June. Only the female incubates, the male guards the female and the eggs near the nest.

Newly hatched mute swans wear gray feathers. Only when they molt do they get white plumage. Swans are precocial. This means that the young are led away from the nest by their parents from day one – and they can also swim immediately.

However, the swan family regularly returns to the nest to rest and sleep. Fledglings are young swans at 120 to 150 days. However, they usually remain with their parents until late autumn or winter, when they are finally driven out by them. They become sexually mature at the age of two. And when they are two to four years old, they find their partner with whom they will stay together for life.

How do mute swans communicate?

During the breeding season, swans make gurgling and trumpet-like calls. They sound like “quiurr”. They also make hissing and hissing noises when they feel threatened. When swans fly overhead, you can hear the typical singing sound of the wings flying.