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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) German name(s): "Höckerschwan", "Schwan" Size: 1.25-1.7 m; wing span 2.0-2.4 m Body mass: 10.6-11.9 kg (male), 8.5-9.7 kg (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 1.50-1.67 (male), 1.31-1.49 (female)

Europe: Family Group 2 Family Group 2 Table Common Loon Red-throated Loon Mute Swan Whooper Swan Greylag Goose Pink-footed Goose Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Canada Goose Barnacle Goose Brent Goose Red-breasted Goose Common Eider Common Scoter Velvet Scoter Common Goldeneye Common Shelduck Ruddy Shelduck Northern Shoveler Eurasian Wigeon American Wigeon Garganey Northern Pintail Mallard Eurasian Teal Gadwall Common Pochard Red-crested Pochard Ferruginous Duck White-headed Duck Tufted Duck Ring-necked Duck Smew Red-breasted Merganser Goosander Great Crested Grebe Black-necked Grebe Little Grebe Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Mute Swans are large birds with an all-white plumage. Although heavy, once airborne they are good fliers. They have long necks and short, sturdy legs. From the base of the bill to the eyes they have a black triangular patch. Ontop of the bill there is a "knob". Male Mute Swans have a bigger knob than females. The irises are dark; the bill is pink, with a black tip. The legs and the fully webbed feet are dark-grey to black. Cygnets and juveniles have homogeneously grey feathers until they moult into adult plumage.

Taxonomy, classification See Mute Swan at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Mute Swan is available HERE . Mute Swans occur naturally only in temperate Europe and western Asia. Depending on seasonal conditions, they are partly migratory, especially in the northern parts of their range. Significant populations have been introduced into other parts of the world, in particular large parts of North America (mostly the north-eastern United States and the West coast), New Zealand and Japan. In Europe, Mute Swans are found in the central and eastern to south-eastern parts of the continent, on the British Isles, in southern Scandinavia and along parts of the Mediterranean and Black Sea coastlines. Mute Swans have a strong preference for fresh water aquatic habitats, such as rivers and lakes.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We have seen Mute Swans in parts of the southern Eifel and Rheinhessen in 2006, 2010 and 2014. C. Pears reports finding Mute Swans in various locations in England in January 2011 and in February 2013. They were also found in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland, in September 2023. D. Wilczynska reports spotting Mute Swans at Lake Ros, Masurias, Poland, in August 2014, and in Biebrza NP, Poland, in May 2017. Several contributors report spotting Mute Swans in various parts of Germany, e.g. on the river Rhine and the river Moselle, and on Fehmarn island. In parklands along the river Rhine several pairs were found nesting in April 2017. The species was also found at Lake Constance, Germany. J. Pires reports that there are wild Mute Swans on the rivers around Mora, Evora, Portugal. M. Eaton reports spotting wild Mute Swans at Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. M. Eaton also found Mute Swans in St. James's Park, London, England, in September 2019. C. Pears reports spotting Mute Swans in Bergen, Norway, in October 2024. In the past we used to see Mute Swans regularly in various parts of Germany, on lakes and rivers, but also in urban parks.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Male Mute Swans, left, have a larger "knob" than females.

Lateral view of a pair of Mute Swans, male on the left, with their clutch of cygnets (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Edersee, Hessen, Germany, May 2026]

MALE

Close-up frontal portrait of a male Mute Swan; note the knob atop the bill (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2014]

Close-up frontal view of a male Mute Swan (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[River Rhein, Eltville, Hessen, Germany, December 2012]

Frontal view of a male Mute Swan on the charge (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Norfolk Broads, Norfolk, England, UK, September 2013]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Mute Swan (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Schierstein, Rheingau, Germany, March 2013]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Mute Swan (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[River Rhein, Eltville, Hessen, December 2012]

Near-lateral view of a male Mute Swan; note the pronounced knob (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lake Ros, Masurias, Poland, August 2014]

Near-lateral view of a male Mute Swan in an urban park
[Wassenaar, The Netherlands, 1998]

Lateral portrait of a male Mute Swan
[River Rhein, Eltville, Hessen, June 2010]

Close-up lateral view of a male Mute Swan (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Fehmarn, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, April 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a posturing male Mute Swan (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira do Peso, Brotas, Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2019]

Male Mute Swan banking to land on water (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Albufeira do Peso, Brotas, Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2019]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Mute Swan
[River Rhein, Eltville, Hessen, June 2010]

Near-frontal view of a female Mute Swan
[River Rhein, Eltville, Hessen, June 2010]

Sex unknown

Skein of Mute Swans in flight (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 2019]

Skein of Mute Swans in flight near the coastline of the Baltic Sea (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Grüner Brink, Fehmarn, Germany, May 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Female Mute Swan with three juveniles (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lake Ros, Masurias, Poland, August 2014]

Lateral view of a first-summer(?) Mute Swan; note the pale bill and the grey tinge
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[River Rhine, between Walluf and Eltville, Hessen, Germany, May 2022]

Near-dorsal view of two first-summer Mute Swans (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Mute Swans with three juveniles (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, August 2022]

Male Mute Swan, back right, with three juveniles (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Lake Constance, Germany, September 2022]

Adult female Mute Swan, front left, with three juvenile birds and a cygnet [obscured] (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Cochem, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, September 2018]

Two juvenile Mute Swans and a cygnet on the left (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Cochem, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, September 2018]

Dorsal view of a Mute Swan moulting from its grey juvenile plumage into adult plumage
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Walluf, Hessen, Germany, October 2016]

Near-frontal view of two cygnets (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lake Ros, Masurias, Poland, August 2014]

Lateral view of 5 cygnets (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lake Ros, Masurias, Poland, August 2014]

Family of Mute Swans with cygnets on a lake (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lake Ros, Masurias, Poland, August 2014]

Frontal view of a Mute Swan cygnet
[River Lahn, Hessen, June 2010]

Near-lateral view of a Mute Swan cygnet
[River Lahn, Hessen, June 2010]

Near-lateral view of a preening Mute Swan cygnet
[River Lahn, Hessen, June 2010]

Family of Mute Swans with small cygnets
[River Lahn, Hessen, June 2010]

Frontal view of Dad Mute Swan with his latest clutch (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, May 2024]

Near-lateral view of Dad Mute Swan with his latest clutch (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, May 2024]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Mar - Jun(?)

Eggs: 4 - 7

Incubation period: 34 - 45 days

Fledging age: 120 - 150 days

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

Type: Basket

Material: Aquatic plants

Height above ground: N/A

Female Mute Swan on its nest made of reeds and lined with feathers (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Near Schierstein, Hessen, Germany, April 2017]

Eggs

Size: 113 x 74 mm

Colour: Creamy

Shape: Ellipsoidal

Female Mute Swan tending to its eggs (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Near Schierstein, Hessen, Germany, April 2017]

Food, Diet

Mute Swans feeding on grass near their nest with eggs in it (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Near Schierstein, Hessen, Germany, April 2017]

Mute Swan (with cygnets) upending to feed on underwater plants (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Near Schierstein, Hessen, Germany, April 2017]

Juvenile Mute Swan trying its luck with some kind of fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. James's Park, London, England, September 2019]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Pair

Mute Swans are sedentary in central and western Europe, but migratory in eastern Europe.

Mute Swans can become surprisingly tame. C. Pears related the story of a wild pair of Mute Swans deciding to nest in someone's back garden in Devon, England, and one of their offspring then staying on with its partner, raising a brood every year over a period of more than 20 years.

Family of Mute Swans making their home in a garden backing onto a river (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Devon, England, October 2013]

Mute Swans lying "scattered" on a pedestrians' walkway, obviously unconcerned by the presence of a photographer
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, May 2024]

Close-up view of one Mute Swan on a pedestrians' walkway (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, May 2024]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

mutswan_jp_20190413.m4a

(Portugal)

?

© JP

More Mute Swan sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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