Mute Swan
Scientific name: Cygnus olor
The exotic mute swan is the elegant bird of Russian ballets and European fairy tales. This swan swims with its long neck curved into an S and often holds its wings raised slightly above its back. Although they’re numerous and familiar in city parks and in bays and lakes in the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, and Midatlantic, mute swans are not native to North America. Their aggressive behavior and voracious appetites often disturb local ecosystems, displace native species, and even pose a hazard to humans.
Weight
194.0-504.4 ounces
Length
50.0-59.8 inches
Did You Know?
Swan Upping is an annual ceremony in England in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, ringed, and then released. Its main practical purposes today are to conduct a census of swans and check their health. It occurs annually in the third week of July. The five-day event, known as Swan Upping, dates back to the 12th century, when swans were eaten as they were considered very fine food for banquets and feast. These days Swan Upping is all about conservation and education.
Diet
Mute swans have enormous appetites. A Maryland study found they ate up to 8 pounds a day of submerged aquatic vegetation, removing food and habitat for other species faster than the grasses could recover.
Habitat
All of the mute swans in North America descended from swans imported from Europe from the mid 1800s through early 1900s to adorn large estates, city parks, and zoos. Escapees established breeding populations and are now established in the Northeast, Midatlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest of the U.S. You may also find them on shallow wetlands, lakes, rivers, and estuaries within the scattered range where they’ve become established in the wild.
Ecosystem Connections
Mute swans can adapt to degraded habitat and actually benefit from the spread of the invasive common reed Phragmites australis, which flourishes in disturbed sites. As the reeds spread into lakes and ponds, the swans can build nests farther offshore in the reed beds, where they’re safer from egg predators.
Human Connections
Give plenty of space to nesting mute swans. They can be extremely aggressive and frequently attack canoeists, kayakers, and pedestrians who wander too close to a nest or chicks.
Family Structure
Mute swans form long-lasting pair bonds. Their reputation for monogamy along with their elegant white plumage has helped establish them as a symbol of love in many cultures.
Family Structure
Mute swans form long-lasting pair bonds. Their reputation for monogamy along with their elegant white plumage has helped establish them as a symbol of love in many cultures.
Photo taken on Lake Waccabuc by Martina Sternfeld
Photo: Patrick Monney
Photo: Paul Tavares
Juvenile Swans; Photo: Yves Gauthier
More on Birds in Lewisboro