The swan is a true beauty of the bird world. The smooth curves of the body and the refined grace of this bird are mesmerizing. This is a symbol of love and fidelity and people have been attracted to it for a long time. Therefore, learning more about what types of swans exist will be useful and interesting to everyone. So join our discussion, in which we will find out who the wild swan Mute or Whooper is, let's look at the photos of these beautiful birds!
Mute Swan is the same ugly duckling about whom Andersen once wrote a cult fairy tale. Unprepossessing at first, over time it turns into a magnificent bird, some information about which you will find below.
Appearance
It is the Shipun figurines that decorate wedding cakes and become symbols of marriage or wedding agencies. After all, according to a beautiful legend, this swan, having lost its mate, flies high into the sky and rushes headlong down. However, this is just a legend. Indeed, a swan chooses only one mate; it is a monogamous bird. But if misfortune happens to it, the bird is quite capable of finding a replacement for lost love.
Externally, the wild Mute is a large white bird. The largest of all flying ones, because the weight of a male can reach up to 14 kg, and the body length up to 180 cm. In Poland, they even specially raised a record-breaking representative for weight - a male weighing as much as 25 kg! Why they did this and whether the large male could fly is unknown. In addition to its solid weight, the Mute has a characteristic curved swan neck in the shape of the letter S, an elongated body, a small head with small eyes.
The Mute's beak is bright orange with a dark tip; next to it there is a large black growth, which in males swells during the mating season. Also, during mating games, males beautifully fold their wings into a heart shape. Young Shipunov have a dirty gray color, and acquire snow-white plumage only in the 3rd year of life. This swan has a not very pleasant hissing voice, which it most often gives when it is not in the best mood. It was thanks to his voice that Shipun got its name.
Area
The natural habitat of the Mute is Europe and Asia. But thanks to man, the beautiful bird has spread almost throughout the world.
They were brought to the American continent, Africa and Australia. They decorate the ponds of parks and squares all over the world. Due to the fact that the Mute cannot take off without a large water area, it rarely leaves the places where it was settled by humans.
Whooper
The whooper is less well known than its larger brother discussed above. But, nevertheless, this is one of the largest and most beautiful birds living in our country.
Appearance
Externally, it is quite easy to distinguish the Whooper. He has a slightly thinner neck than Shipun, he prefers to keep it straight and does not bend it. The beak is lemon yellow, without growth, black at the tip. The eyes are small and black.
The plumage of adults is white, while that of young animals is smoky-gray. The weight of an adult whooper is 7-10 kg, in rare cases more. The body is elongated, in general the Whooper looks more elongated and thinner than his brother Shipun.
The Whooper owes its name to the drawn-out, trumpet, melodic sounds that it makes in flight. Despite the fact that Whooper swims majestically and slowly, like most of his swan relatives, it will not be easy to catch up with him even on a boat.
Area
If you look at the map of the Klikun's range, you can see that it is distributed mostly in the northern part of the Eurasian continent. The forests of the Urals and Siberia, the open spaces of Scandinavia and Scotland, the island of Sakhalin and Chukotka are the natural habitats of Whoopers. Whoopers are also found in Mongolia, Japan, and off the coast of the Caspian Sea. Those birds that live in the extreme northern regions move to the southern regions of Russia and Kyrgyzstan for the winter.
Whoopers settle in bodies of water; they do not like to walk on the ground and do so reluctantly. In addition, lakes are a water airfield for them. They cannot take off without a long water run. They feed in shallow waters because they cannot dive. In addition to their natural habitat, Whoopers are found all over the world; they decorate ponds and lakes in parks and squares.
We invite you to look at wild swans near a pond in the following video, created by Tonya Fokina.
Black Swan
This spectacular bird exists as if in contrast to its snow-white brother. If it is purity and innocence, then the black swan is sometimes credited with mystical powers.
Appearance
The black swan differs from its relatives in its unusual dark bordered light gray plumage.
It also has one more feature - the longest neck among all swan, thanks to the presence of 31 vertebrae.
The black swan is slightly smaller than the mute, its weight varies between 5-8 kg. And the body length is 110-140 cm, taking into account that most of this length falls on the neck. This swan has a beautiful bright red beak, which is enclosed in a white ring at the tip.
The black swan has some white feathers, but they tend to be hidden in the depths. But they can be visible in flight, when a soaring bird opens its wings wide. The flight feathers of the Black Swan are beautifully curled, and this further decorates the unusual bird. In addition, this species can also fold its wings into a heart shape, like the Mute.
But unlike the Mute, which makes only ominous hissing sounds, the Black Swan can use its voice to greet its relatives. And also to express your dissatisfaction or warn of danger.
Area
The black swan is native to Australia. Despite its hot climate, the bird feels good there. The species is also found in Tasmania and New Zealand, where it was introduced artificially. The black swan always lives in bodies of water; it, like all other swans, needs water space. At the same time, it flies well too; it takes a long time to accelerate, but it flies quickly.
Black swans can travel across the entire Australian continent, stopping to rest near bodies of water. But most often they live sedentary in the place of their birth. Leaving it only in cases of extreme need.
Naturally, such a beautiful bird as the Black Swan did not go unnoticed and now it can be seen in almost every corner of the world. They decorate forested areas and private farmsteads. Fortunately, the bird is not picky and easily adapts to new terrain.
The whooper swan is one of the largest and most unusually beautiful species of birds found in many countries. These are rather shy birds, so it is very difficult to spot them in the wild. Whooper swans nest in secluded and quiet places, away from human eyes. Due to the intensive reduction of their habitats, they are in danger of extinction. Therefore, this breed of swans is listed in the Red Book.
The whooper swan is often mentioned in folklore and is a symbol of fidelity, love and purity. But there are other, no less interesting, facts about whoopers:
- the main difference between individuals of this breed and other species is the absence of a characteristic bump on the surface of the whooper’s beak;
- whoopers are the only breed of swans that have a straight, long neck without a bend;
- males quite often engage in bloody battles for habitat areas, or for a chosen mate;
- adult individuals are quite strong and have incredible strength, and therefore with just one wing they can inflict a fatal blow on a small animal and even break a human arm;
- many peoples of the Trans-Urals exalted these birds and made totems with their appearance, and some peoples believed that they originated from swans;
- In Siberia, there was a belief that with the onset of winter cold, whoopers turn into snow, and by spring they turn into swans again.
At all times, whooper swans have attracted human attention. Many legends and fairy tales, poems, songs and fables have been written about them. And in the modern world, swans represent a symbol of fidelity and eternal love.
Description of the breed
In the description of the whooper's external parameters there are no unusual features that would distinguish it from the generally accepted understanding of the appearance of birds of this breed. But there are still characteristic features of the whooper breed.
Firstly, these are the body dimensions:
- the weight of birds can reach from 7.5 to 15 kilograms;
- body length varies from 140 to 175 centimeters;
- the wings fit tightly to the body, the wingspan ranges from 265 to 280 cm;
- the neck is very long and straight;
- the beak reaches 10-12 centimeters in length, colored bright lemon with a black tip;
- In size it exceeds the swans of the “small” breed, but is slightly inferior to the mute swan.
As for the coloring of whoopers, it is immediately worth noting that their snow-white adult plumage appears only at the age of 3 years, just when puberty begins. Until this age, swans have light gray plumage, and the color of the feathers on the head is always somewhat darker than on the back.
The places where the whooper swan lives are represented by the Scandinavian Peninsula, Scotland and Sakhalin. They can also be seen in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, Mongolia and Japan, and the whooper swan also lives on the shores of reservoirs in the Perm Territory and on large lakes in Chukotka.
This is a migratory breed of swans, so with the onset of winter they fly to warmer climes to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as to the middle southern part of Asia. The flight of whoopers can be very long.
If necessary, birds descend to the surface of the water surface of large reservoirs, where they rest and gain strength to complete their migration.
At the end of winter, the birds return to the former habitats of whoopers, after which mating dances begin. Young chicks initially fly in the same flock with their parents, and after reaching puberty they break away from them and create their own family and flock.
Breeding
The life expectancy of whooper swans averages 9-10 years, and sexual maturity, as noted above, occurs at 3 years. They begin to organize mating games at the end of the winter period.
Males begin to make a loud trumpet call and attract the attention of females with amazing courtship dances. Having flown to their usual habitat, the whoopers break up into pairs and begin arranging nests for further laying eggs and incubating chicks.
To be somewhat more precise, the nest is usually built by the female, and the male is nearby. Despite the fact that the parameters of a swan’s nest are quite impressive and range from one to three meters in diameter and up to 74-80 centimeters in depth, they are very rarely discovered, since these individuals are very timid and see danger in everything. Therefore, they choose the most secluded and remote places for nesting.
In one clutch, the female produces up to 7 eggs and incubates them herself. The male constantly guards her and, when danger approaches, emits a loud call.
Hearing the call of the male, the female covers the eggs with down and dry twigs, and the pair immediately hides. After the danger has passed, the swans return to the nest.
The female immediately begins to turn the eggs, after which she continues incubation.
The entire process from laying eggs to hatching takes 36-40 days. Babies with gray fluff on their bodies appear. Swan couples take a very responsible approach to the process of raising and feeding chicks, which grow and develop quite quickly. Therefore, from the first week of life, the chicks feed on their own, and by the age of 3 months they leave the nest, but do not go far from their parents.
The whooper swan is a rather large migratory bird, so they spend most of their lives on the water. From the outside it seems that the birds are rather slow and clumsy, but when danger approaches, the swans begin to move very quickly through the water until they take off, so even by boat it is not always possible to catch up with them.
Currently, many large farmers breed these individuals on their plots as a decorative decoration. In order to keep swans, it is necessary that there be a small lake or artificial reservoir on the territory; if these requirements are violated, the swans will not be able to live long on the plot and will leave it at the slightest opportunity.
Feeding
In the wild, the whooper swan feeds mainly on plant foods, and only about 18-20% of the daily diet consists of animal products in the form of:
- worms;
- insects;
- other species of invertebrate animals of the smallest size.
The same feeding principle should be present when feeding swans at home. The daily diet of swans should contain the following crops:
- peas;
- wheat;
- millet;
- potato;
- carrot.
The listed ingredients contain such useful substances as niacin, sulfates, chlorides, carotene, tocopherol and other useful components necessary for the optimal growth and development of swans.
The daily diet of these birds at home should look something like this:
- in the morning - crushed root vegetables (230 g per individual) with plenty of water, as well as forbs (500 g per individual) and cereals (250 g), bone meal - 20 grams;
- at lunch - wet feed and throughout the day walking outside near a pond with free access to eat grass;
- Before sunset, it is recommended to do the same as for breakfast.
It is also worth noting that despite the fact that these birds spend most of the day on a pond or lake, they need to regularly fill the drinking bowls in the enclosure, on the shore of the reservoir, and in the premises where they are kept.
The whooper swan is a bird of the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. These birds nest in the subarctic zone of Eurasia, in places where forests end and are replaced by tundra.
Whooper swans nest in territories from Chukotka to Scandinavia. For the winter, birds fly to the coast of the Caspian Sea, to eastern Europe, to the eastern regions of China, Korea, Japan and to the northern Mediterranean. Those species that nest in Scandinavia and on the Baltic coast do not leave their habitats.
Whooper swans need water to live. These birds are quite heavy, so they spend most of their lives in the water element.
Appearance of the whooper
The whooper swan is a large copy of small swans, but their beak color is different. In whoopers' beaks, yellow colors predominate, while in small swans, black colors predominate. In all other respects the birds are similar.
The body length of swans of this species is 1.4-1.7 meters, while they weigh from 7.5 to 14 kilograms. Females are lighter than males.
Females weigh approximately 9 kilograms, and the weight of males reaches 10-11 kilograms. The largest recorded male weighed 15.5 kilograms. The wingspan is 2-2.75 meters.
The beak size is 9-12 centimeters. Swans have short legs, but their necks are long. The plumage of whooper swans is white and contains a lot of fluff. The young are light gray in color. The head of birds is darker than the body. Young individuals acquire adult coloration by the third year of life.
Behavior and nutrition of whooper swans
Whooper swans got their name from the loud sounds they make in flight. As noted, swans have heavy bodies, so they are poorly adapted to moving on land.
They spend most of their lives on the water. To take off, the whoopers have to run away. These birds can swim quickly in case of danger. Predators do not often attack whooper swans, since these birds are quite large and have great physical strength.
Birds feed mainly on plant foods, but they can also eat animal foods. The diet is based on a variety of aquatic plants. In order to get the plant from the bottom, the swan dives like a duck.
Swans also feed on invertebrates and fish. Animal food is preferred by those representatives of the species that need large amounts of protein.
Reproduction of whoopers
Swans form monogamous pairs for life. The male and female remain together even after the nesting period ends. The couple spends the winter together and flies north together. At the same time, the younger generation does not leave their parents for the first winter.
Swans nest near bodies of water, on the banks of which thick greenery grows. The male and female build the nest together. The nest is a large pile of vegetation. The couple considers the territory adjacent to the dwelling to be theirs and protects it from encroachment by other representatives of the species.
The female lays 4-7 eggs; the incubation period for the eggs lasts 36 days. For the most part, the female incubates the eggs, and the male guards the clutch and his other half.
Newborn chicks are covered with down. The babies grow quickly, they get their own food and at 3 months they begin to fly. But the offspring are in no hurry to lead an independent life; the young stay with their parents until next spring. Birds go to nesting sites in March-May. Whoopers go to wintering grounds in October, at which time the new generation masters flight techniques.
Whooper Swan
Nesting records since 2000:
Brest region - Gantsevichi, Drogichinsky, Kamenets, Malorita districts
Vitebsk region - Braslav, Verhnedvinsk, Vitebsk, Lepel, Miory, Rossonsky, Chashniksky, Sharkovshchinsky districts
Gomel region - Braginsky, Zhitkovichsky, Kalinkovichsky, Loevsky, Khoiniki districts
Grodno region - Mostovsky, Smorgon district
Minsk region - Vileysky, Kopylsky, Krupsky, Lyubansky, Myadelsky, Smolevichi, Soligorsk, Chervensky districts
Family Ducks - Anatidae
Monotypic species, does not form subspecies.
A rare species, it is not often found during migrations and occasionally nests, and the nesting of this bird in our country began to be recorded only after 2000: on 08/04/2002, a brood was found at the “Ruda” fish farm in the Malorita district of the Brest region. Currently, small numbers of whooper swan have been observed nesting in almost all regions of Belarus with the exception of the Mogilev region. Repeated wintering of small groups of birds is known in the Brest region.
The same large snow-white bird as the mute swan, but differs from it in features that are clearly visible in adult birds: the manner of constantly (on water and on land) keeping the neck straight (without bending it in the shape of the letter “S”), and the head and the beak is horizontal. The beak is without a cone, the main part (up to the nostrils) is lemon yellow, the front is black. The bridle is bare, yellow. The iris is dark brown. Legs matte black. The voice is a loud trumpet - “ang” or “ang-ho”, comparable in power to the cries of cranes. The weight of males and females is 6.4-11.5 kg, body length 148-170 cm, wingspan 224-250 cm.
The bird is a very cautious bird and during the non-breeding period it stays in open water, away from the banks and reed thickets. It takes off from the water with a long run, flapping its wings heavily and pushing off its surface with its paws. Having risen into the air, it flies quickly, stretching its neck forward and rarely, but very strongly flapping its wings, the noise of which is clearly audible. The whooper's voice is loud and can be heard several kilometers away in good weather.
During migration time (March-April and September-November) it can be found in reservoirs of various types (lakes, reservoirs, fish ponds) with well-developed above-water vegetation, and nests mainly in remote lakes or heavily overgrown fish ponds. The biotopes used by the species for reproduction are characterized by shallow water depth - up to 1.5 m, dense emergent vegetation and good protective properties. At the moment, fish farm ponds and permanent artificial reservoirs are the most significant nesting sites, where 68% of all nesting pairs of swans are recorded, while in natural habitats (lakes and swamps) - only 32%.
In Belarus, the main number of swans nest in three types of habitats (ponds of fish farms, lakes and permanent artificial reservoirs) and account for 91% of the total number of the breeding group of the species. First of all, the most suitable biotopes are occupied (ponds of fish farms, lakes and permanent artificial reservoirs), and only after their saturation the species begins to occupy less suitable habitats.
The nest is among the above-water vegetation, as large as that of a mute bird, but the color of the whooper's eggs is different - dirty yellowish-white, and their number is usually smaller - 3-6. The average egg size is 114.5 x 73.5 mm.
The food is like that of a mute bird.
During the summer period 1998–2003. in the reservoirs of Brest Polesie, in addition to nesting pairs, there were regularly 4 to 10 non-breeding individuals. Before 2012, 35 breeding pairs were reliably identified: Brest region - 3 pairs, Vitebsk region - 10 pairs, Grodno region - 2 pairs, Gomel region - 12 pairs and Minsk region - 8 pairs. In the Mogilev region. nesting of the species has not yet been identified. At the moment, the whooper swan is intensively expanding southwards into new territories and is gradually saturating nesting habitats with this species. We should expect rapid growth in numbers over the next few decades. It can be assumed that in the near future the whooper swan will take the leading place among the nesting swans of Belarus.
Wintering grounds of whoopers are regularly observed in the south of the republic and their number is growing rapidly. Moreover, whoopers are observed in winter and much further north, for example, on the river. Dnieper in the vicinity of Mogilev.
The number of whooper swan in Belarus at the moment should be estimated at no less than 40–50 pairs.
The whooper swan is included in the annotated list of species in the third edition of the Red Book of Belarus, as requiring additional study and attention for the purpose of preventive protection.
The maximum age recorded in Europe is 26 years 8 months.
Literature
1. Fedyushin A.V., Dolbik M.S. “Birds of Belarus”. Minsk, 1967. -521 p.
2. Grichik V.V., Burko L.D. "Fauna of Belarus. Vertebrates: textbook" Minsk, 2013. -399 p.
3. Gaiduk V. E., Abramova I. V. "Ecology of birds in the southwest of Belarus. Non-passerines: monograph." Brest, 2009. -300s.
4. Bogdanovich I. A., Nikiforov M. E. “Distribution and abundance of whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) on the territory of Belarus” / News of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Gray bialagic sounds. 2013. No. 1 P.78-82
5. Nikiforov M. E., Samusenko I. E. “Finds and sightings of birds, approved by the Belarusian Ornitho-Faunistic Commission on November 27, 2003.” / Subbuteo 2004, volume 7. P.49-56
6. Fransson, T., Jansson, L., Kolehmainen, T., Kroon, C. & Wenninger, T. (2017) EURING list of longevity records for European birds.
7. Bondar V.A., personal communication (from video material) from 27.01.2019
The whooper swan got its name from its loud, trumpet-like calls, especially often made in flight. When swimming, it holds its neck vertically, its wings tightly pressed to its body. Usually the whooper swan, like all swans, swims slowly and majestically, but if you chase it, you can hardly catch it even by boat. Taking off from the water, it runs for a long time, flails its paws through the water, gradually gaining speed and height. He does not like to walk on the ground and does it extremely reluctantly and rarely. The whooper is a cautious bird that stays in wide expanses of water, away from the shores. The blow of the whooper's wing is so strong that it can break a child's arm.
Nutrition
Whooper swans feed mainly on plant foods, aquatic plants, and also eat small invertebrate animals. The chicks feed mainly on animal food in shallow water, obtaining food from the bottom, half-diving into the water, like ducks.
Reproduction
Whooper swans are monogamous birds that form pairs for life, and the birds stay together even during the winter. A change of partner is possible only if one of the swans dies. Whoopers nest on the banks of reservoirs: possibly large lakes covered with dense thickets. As a rule, these are deep forest lakes, far from people. Sometimes it nests on sea coasts if there are reed thickets there. If the birds are not disturbed, they nest near human habitation. The whooper's nesting area is a fairly vast area where other swans are not allowed; if the boundaries are violated, violent fights occur between whoopers, usually on the water. The nest is made up of huge piles of withered vegetation, which is collected mainly by the female. The diameter of the nest at the base is about 1 m, sometimes up to 2-3 m. Height is about 0.5-0.8 m. The diameter of the tray is about 40-50 cm. The nest is made in thickets of reeds, reeds or cattails, less often in shallow water, where the nest rests on the bottom of the reservoir. The bottom of the tray is lined with grass, moss and feathers plucked from the belly and chest of the female. There are 3-7 eggs in the clutch, which are incubated by the female. The eggs are white or yellowish. When a clutch dies, a second one is laid, but always with fewer eggs. While the female incubates the eggs, the male remains nearby and guards the nest. After 5 weeks, the chicks hatch and are cared for by both parents. Chicks can get their own food. Chicks often stay close to their parents after they learn to fly.