Commonly Known Swan Species - Tips Before You Jumping Into Keeping Swans

Swans are the largest and generally considered
the most beautiful of the waterfowl. A male is
known as a cob, a female is a pen, and the young
are called cygnets. Swans are large water birds
of the family Anatidae, which also includes
geese and ducks. Swans are creatures of habit,
often mating for life and breeding in the same
place year after year. The swans species are
known to divide into the northern hemisphere
swans which are Mute swan, Trumpeter swan,
Whooper swan, Whistling or Tundra swan, Bewick
swan while the southern hemisphere which are
Black swan, Black-necked swan and Coscoroba
swan.

The Mute Swan is common swan of parks and
estates. It is native across Europe and Asia and
has been introduced in many other areas,
including parts of North America. In England,
all Mute Swans were considered the property of
the Crown until the 18th century. Mute swans,
with their dazzling white plumage, orange bills
and gracefully curved necks are among the most
beautiful and instantly recognizable of all the
wild birds.

On the other hand, the Trumpeter Swan is North
America's largest waterfowl and one of its
rarest native birds. In many areas these swans
face new problems such as lead poisoning,
habitat loss, and the loss of their traditional
migration patterns to southern wintering areas.
Restoration efforts during the past fifty years
have met with both successes and failures.
Today, in a new century and with a new
restoration technique, transportation of birds
to other areas has resulted in a spectacular
comeback.

The Whooper Swan is the Old World cousin of the
Trumpeter Swan, breeding across the entire
northern Palerctic. It is distinguished from
Bewick's Swan by its larger size and the yellow
bill with a black tip. It is the noisiest of all
the swans, constantly calling "hoo, hoo, hoo"
while in flight. Unlike the Mute Swan, it tends
to carry its neck stiffly erect.

The Tundra Swan consists of two distinct
subspecies, namely, the Whistling Swan of North
America and the Bewick Swan of Eurasia. The
Whistling Swan differs in appearance from the
Bewick Swan in the amount of yellow it has on
its bill. The Whistling Swan has a yellow
teardrop in front of its eye whereas the Bewick
Swan has almost half of its bill covered on
yellow.

Another type is the Black Swan which is native
to most of Australia, including Tasmania. The
populations are thriving in New Zealand and
there are some free-living birds in Sweden. The
Black Swan is the most social of the swans and
during the breeding season will often nest in
loose colonies. Most other swans will not
tolerate other pairs anywhere near their nests.

As for Black-necked Swan, these beautiful birds
are native to southern South America. The sexes
are similar in plumage. They flock most of the
year but are quite territorial when breeding.
The males will chase other waterfowl, and almost
anything else, from the vicinity to the nest.
Incubation will last 36 days until the clutch of
4-5 hatches. The cygnets spend much of their time
on the parents' back when not feeding.

The Coscoroba Swan was given its name because
of the call that it makes, and on a warm summer
night here in the Northeast part of the US
captive-bred Coscoroba Swans will seemingly
spend the entire night calling. One bird will
start a procession and the others will follow.
The cob makes a high-pitched "coscoroba" call
whereas the pens are much deeper in tone.

Swans are devoted parents, keeping a watchful
eye on their brood, allowing them to 'hitch a
lift' on their backs and diligently teaching
them how to feed on the underwater plants which
will form the main part of their diet. The
family group remains together until the winter
or following spring when the juveniles are
evicted from the breeding territory. Young birds
may then join flocks of non-breeding swans, and
often remain in these colonies for two or three
years until they are old enough to breed. They
will eventually form a pair bond and begin the
search for a vacant nesting territory.

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Learn more about raising swans and find out more
tips on commonly known swan species at
http://www.howtoraiseswans.com

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