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Whooper Swan
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Cygnus
Species: Cygnus cygnus

The Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), also known as the Common Swan, pronounced hooper swan, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan.

Description[]

The Whooper Swan is similar in appearance to the Bewick's Swan. However, it is larger, at a length of 140–160 centimeters (55–63 in), a wingspan of 205–275 centimeters (81–108 in) and a mass range of 8–20 kilograms (18–44 lb). It has a more angular head shape and a more variable bill pattern that always shows more yellow than black (Bewick's Swans have more black than yellow). It is considered to be one of the world's heaviest flying birds, and a wintering male Whooper Swan in Denmark has been verified to have a record mass of 15.5 kg (34.25 lb).

Voice[]

They are vocal birds with deep honking calls similar to the Trumpeter Swan.

Behavior[]

Whooper Swans require large areas of water to live in, especially when they are still growing, because their body weight cannot be supported by their legs for extended periods of time. The Whooper Swan spends much of its time swimming, straining the water for food, or eating plants that grow on the bottom. Despite their size, Whooper Swans are powerful fliers. They can migrate many hundreds of miles to their wintering sites in northern Europe and eastern Asia.

Breeding and Nesting[]

Whooper swan cygnet

Whooper Swan cygnet.

Whooper Swans pair for life, and their cygnets stay with them all winter; they are sometimes joined by offspring from previous years. Semi-domesticated birds will build a nest anywhere close to water. Both the male and female help build the nest, and the male will stand guard over the nest while the female incubates. The female will usually lay 4-7 eggs (exceptionally 12). The cygnets hatch after about 36 days and have a grey or brown plumage with the beak being greyish pink and blackish. The cygnets can fly at the age of around 4-5 months.

Distribution[]

They breed in subarctic Eurasia, further south than the Bewick's in the taiga zone. They are rare breeders in northern Scotland, particularly in Orkney, and no more than five pairs have bred there in recent years. This bird is an occasional vagrant to western North America. Icelandic breeders overwinter in the United Kingdom and Ireland, especially in the wildfowl nature reserves of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Cultural Influence[]

Whooper Swans are much admired in Europe. The Whooper Swan has been the national bird of Finland since 1981 and is featured on the Finnish 1 euro coin. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Musical utterances by Whooper Swans at the moment of death have been suggested as the origin of the swan song legend.

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