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2

Mute Swan

(Cygnus olor)
German name(s): "Höckerschwan", "Schwan"
Size: 1.25-1.7 m; wing span 2.0-2.4 m
Weight: 9.2-14.3 kg (male), 7.6-10.6 kg (female)
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Mute Swan at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

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, 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]

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

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]

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]

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]

Lateral portrait of a female Mute Swan; a male's knob is larger
[River Rhein, Eltville, Hessen, June 2010]

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

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

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

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]

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

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]

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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If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.