1. Family - Anatidae Subfamily - Cygininae
Swans
Family - Anatidae
Subfamily - Cygininae

2. 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

3. Habitat & Food Found in temperate climate
Up-end or dabble to feed on submerged and bottom vegetation in shallow lakes, ponds, estuaries
Also eats aquatic animals

4. Swans Breeding in North America
Mute
Tundra
Whooper
Trumpeter

5. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) originally from Europe
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

6. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
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

7. Tundra Swan Cygnus columianus
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.

8. Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
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

9. 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

10. Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
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

11. Whooper Swan Cygnus, cygnus
Has bred in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Habitat includes tundra lakes and marshes, open water, and agricultural fields

12. Other Swans Black Swan – Cygnus atratus (Australian)
Black-necked Swan – Cygnus melanocorypha (South America)
Coscoroba Swan – Coscoroba coscoroba (South America)

13. Black Swan
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

14. 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

15. Black-necked Swan Cygnus melanocorypha
South American swan
Adults: Black-necked, white bodied, gray bill with red knob. White stripe behind eye.

16. Black-necked Swan Cygnus melancoryphus
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.

17. Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba
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

18. Coscoroba Swan Feeds on grass and aquatic plants
Also eats mussels and fish
Male guards female as she incubates eggs and the young until they fledge

19. 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