It would be difficult to name birds fanned with more romance and mystery than swans. People have long worshiped them, admiring such qualities of these birds as the majestic and proud appearance, beauty and grace and, of course, the very swan fidelity that is spoken of in legends and sung in songs. For many peoples in ancient times, swans became totem animals.

But what are they - real, not legendary and not fabulous, but quite ordinary earthly swans? And what else, in addition to the features listed above, can these birds be remarkable and interesting?

Description of swans

Swans are large, majestic waterfowl from the duck family, which in turn belongs to the order Anseriformes. Currently, seven species of living swans and ten species of extinct ones are known, and it is possible that they did not become extinct without human intervention. In all species of swans, plumage can only be of achromatic colors - black, gray or white.

Appearance

Swans are considered the largest waterfowl on Earth, their weight reaches 15 kg, and their wingspan is up to two meters. The plumage color can be not only snow-white, but also coal-black, as well as various shades of gray. The color of the beak in most species is gray or dark yellow, and only in the black swan and mute is it red. All species of swans have a characteristic growth above the beak, the color of which depends on the species to which the bird belongs: it can be black, yellow or red.

The main external feature that distinguishes swans from ducks and other birds similar to them is a long neck, which helps the birds to find food in the water. Their paws are short, so on land the swans look far from being as elegant as in the water, and their gait at the same time looks somewhat awkward. But, thanks to the well-developed musculature of the wings, the swan flies well, and in flight it looks almost as impressive as when swimming: it flies, stretching its neck far and cutting through the air with the flapping of strong wings.

A flock of swans migrating south in autumn makes a truly strong impression when it flies over deserted fields and yellowed forests on a foggy and rainy morning, announcing the surroundings with loud, sad cries, as if saying goodbye to their native places until spring.

It is interesting! Swan Lake, located near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, with snow-white and jet-black majestic birds floating on it, inspired the Russian composer Pyotr Ivanovich Tchaikovsky to write music for the ballet "Swan Lake".

Sexual dimorphism in swans is not too pronounced, so it is not so easy to distinguish a male from a female, since they have the same body size, beak shape, their necks are the same length, and the plumage color of males and females of the same species also matches. The chicks of swans, unlike adult birds, are rather plain in appearance and lack the grace of their parents. The color of their down is usually dirty gray in various shades.

Character and lifestyle

They swim majestically, sedately and measuredly, cutting through the water surface, and at the same time their movements are filled with proud leisurelyness. When the swan plunges its head and neck into the water in search of food, its body hangs down after them, so that only the back of the body is visible, resembling from a distance a small pillow crowned with a small tail. Swans living in the wild are very cautious, they do not trust either people or other animals and prefer to stay away from the coast, where danger may await them.

If a real, rather than an imaginary threat looms over them, then the birds prefer to swim away from their enemy through the water, and only if it is not possible to avoid pursuit, they scatter through the water, slapping its surface with webbed paws and from time to time waving heavily wings. If this does not help to hide from the predator overtaking them, only then the swans reluctantly rise into the air. When, for some reason, the swan cannot take off, it dives under the water and already tries to avoid the danger.

Birds living in parks and zoos quickly get used to the fact that the attention of visitors is constantly riveted to them. They become trustful of people and favorably agree to accept food from them. Swans are very proud, they do not tolerate the presence of neighbors and, moreover, competitors next to them. An already established couple will desperately defend their territory, not letting anyone else into their possessions.

These birds can be aggressive if someone disturbs the peace and enters their territory. Swans are very strong and in a one-on-one fight with a person, they can easily break their enemy’s arm with a blow of the wing, and a powerful and strong beak makes them even more formidable opponents. If they settle close to a person, for example, in gardens or parks, then this means that the birds completely trust people and allow them to approach them in exchange for protection and feeding. Only in this case they can come to terms with the presence of neighbors.

It is interesting! Scientists studying these birds noticed that black swans have the most calm and peaceful disposition. But white mute, on the contrary, can be very cocky and aggressive.

All types of swans are among migratory birds. In autumn, they leave their native places to winter on the coast of warm southern seas or non-freezing lakes, and return back in spring. A flock of flying swans, in front of which the leader flies, is called a wedge.

How long do swans live

Swans are considered long-lived birds, and indeed they can live from 20 to 25 years in natural conditions and up to 30 years in captivity. However, the legend, which says that these birds can live up to 150 years, unfortunately, is a fiction that does not correspond to the actual life span of these amazing and truly beautiful creatures.

types of swans

There are currently seven species of swans in the world:

• whooper swan;
• mute swan;
• trumpeter swan;
• small swan;
• American swan;
• black Swan;
• black-necked swan.

Whooper

One of the most common types of swans. These birds nest in the northern part of Eurasia, from Iceland to Sakhalin, and in the south their range extends to the Mongolian steppes and northern Japan. It differs from its other relatives by the trumpet call emitted during the flight, which is carried over long distances. The color of the fluff-rich plumage of whoopers is snow-white. Their bill is lemon yellow with a black tip. Another one external feature of these birds is that on the water they do not bend their neck, like other swans, but keep it strictly vertical.

Shipun

Unlike the whooper, which looks similar to it, while swimming, it bends its neck in the form of the Latin letter S, and holds its head obliquely to the surface of the water. Due to the fact that the mute is generally larger and more massive than the whooper, its neck visually looks thicker and at a distance seems shorter than it actually is. When flying, the mute does not emit trumpet clicks, but the sound of its large and strong wings dissecting the air, accompanied by a characteristic creak emitted by wide and long flight feathers, can be heard from afar.

It is interesting! This bird is named so because, expressing its displeasure, it emits an evil hiss.

Mute live in the middle and southern regions of Asia and Europe. Their range stretches from the south of Sweden, Denmark and Poland in the west to China and Mongolia in the east. However, even there you can rarely meet these swans, as they are very cautious and distrustful.

Outwardly similar to the whooper, but, unlike the yellow-black beak of the latter, its beak is completely black. Trumpeters - large birds, whose weight reaches 12.5 kg, and body length - 150-180 cm. They live in the North American tundra, their favorite nesting places are large lakes and wide, slowly flowing rivers.

This species, nesting in the tundra of Eurasia, from the Kola Peninsula in the west to the Kolyma in the east, is also called the tundra. It is distinguished from its fellows by the fact that the small swan is much smaller than them in size. Its body length is 115-127 cm, and its weight is about 5-6 kg. The voice of the tundra swan is similar to the voice of the whooper, but at the same time it is somewhat quieter and lower. Its beak is mostly black, only its upper part is yellow. The Lesser Swan likes to settle in open water areas, and, on the contrary, tries to avoid forest reservoirs.

It looks like a small one, only it can be slightly larger than the latter (up to 146 cm) and its neck is slightly shorter and thinner. The color of the beak is almost completely black, except for a pair of small bright yellow spots in its upper part, located on the sides.

It is interesting! The pattern on the beaks of American swans is individual and unique, just like human fingerprints.

Previously, this species was widespread and lived in the North American tundra. But it doesn't happen very often these days. It prefers to winter along the Pacific coast to California in the south and the Atlantic Ocean to Florida. It is also found in Russia: on Anadyr, Chukotka and the Commander Islands.

This bird is distinguished by its almost black plumage, only the flight feathers on its wings are white. In many black swans, individual inner feathers are also white. They show through the upper, black feathers, so that the overall tone from a distance may appear dark gray, and close up, if you look closely, you can see concentric white stripes diverging in the main black color. Even the paws of this species are black, exactly the same as the upper feathers. The beak is a very bright red hue, on its front part there is a white ring.

Black swans are slightly smaller than mute swans: their height ranges from 110 to 140 cm, and their weight is from four to eight kilograms. It has a very long neck, consisting of 32 cervical vertebrae, thanks to which the bird can engage in spearfishing in deeper waters. Unlike a mute, a black swan can make trumpet sounds, calling on its relatives or expressing discontent. They live in Australia and Tasmania. But in Europe, as well as North America, black swans are also found, however, as semi-wild birds that live in parks and reserves.

black-necked swan

It differs from the rest of its relatives in an unusual two-tone plumage color: its head and neck are painted black, while the rest of the body has a snow-white hue. Around the eyes is a narrow white frame in the form of a strip. The beak of these birds is dark gray, at its base there is a large bright red outgrowth. The legs of black-necked swans are light pink. These birds live in South America, from Chile in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south, and fly to Paraguay and Brazil for the winter.

Range, habitats

Most species of swans live in temperate zones and only a few of them can live in the tropics. These birds live in Europe, in some countries of Asia, in America and in Australia. Swans do not live in tropical Asia, in the north of South America and in Africa. On the territory of Russia, they are found in the tundra zones and, much less often, in the forest zone. To the south, their range extends from the Kola Peninsula to the Crimea and from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Central Asia.

It is interesting! Some of the swans have been declared national treasures. For example, whooper in Finland and mute in Denmark. The latter, in addition, in the UK are considered the personal property of the queen, and only members of the royal family are allowed to use the meat of these birds.

The favorite habitats of swans are large lakes, overgrown with reeds and other aquatic vegetation off the coast. Sometimes they can also settle on the sea coast if there are reed thickets nearby. If people treat these birds with respect and not too intrusive, they can settle on ponds near settlements. With a few exceptions, swans are migratory birds. But sometimes they can stay in their nesting places. For example, whoopers sometimes hibernate in the non-freezing straits of the White and Baltic Seas.

Diet of swans

Basically, swans feed on plant foods - roots, stems and shoots of plants, for which they dive, plunging their long neck into the water. Small animals such as frogs, worms, bivalves and small fish are also often their food. On the ground, these birds can pluck grass, as, for example, their distant relatives, geese, do.

It is interesting! White swans are especially gluttonous. The daily amount of food they eat is up to a quarter of the bird's weight.

Finding food for swans, as a rule, is not difficult. However, there may be periods in their life when they have to go on a strict diet, which happens, for example, in case of prolonged bad weather or when the water level rises strongly and the bird cannot reach the plants growing on the bottom. In this case, they can become very thin and weaken. But even a forced hunger strike is not able to force these birds to leave their usual places and go in search of others, more promising in terms of food.

Royal bird. Usually the state or the monarch owns the land, weapons, enterprises. The Queen of Britain went further. The head of England also owns birds, and in particular swans. Therefore, in the UK they do not touch them with a finger, fearing to encroach on the property of the monarch. How did the swans deserve such respect?

Description and features of the swan

The ownership of the English swans by the queen is not as romantic as it seems. Rights to birds are claimed based on the taste of birds. In past centuries, they were considered an exquisite dish, served at the royal table.

Therefore, the monarchs of England took a caretaker of swans into their retinue. Previously, he was an aristocrat. In the 21st century, the position is given to professor Oxford University. He is responsible for counting birds and organizing support for their numbers.

In a real description of a feathered one, there is also less romance than in phraseological units and legends. There is, for example, the expression " a swan song". This is the name of brilliant creations, having created which the authors retire or die. The real swan song is more like a cry, and in young individuals it is barking.

The metaphor "swan's neck" is objective. It is really long in birds, equal to the length of the body. Such a neck distinguishes many anseriformes, to which swans belong. They are white, black and gray in color.

All birds are large and powerful, due to which they raise their mass well. However, most of the time, any swan spends on the water. Here, the long neck of the animal allows it to fish out food from the bottom. Swans walk with difficulty because they have short legs. Limbs, by the way, are reddish. The beak is colored yellow, large.

Swan - king bird. This title is given to the animal due to its grace and beauty. For 15-18 kg birds look exceptionally elegant. Birds also move. The exception is walking. On the ground, animals roll from side to side, like ordinary geese. It unites all swans.

types of swans

Swan in the photo it is medium in size and large, dark and light, with a red or yellow beak. The differences are due to species diversity. There are 7 subtypes of swans:

1. Tundra. It is otherwise called small, since it is the smallest among relatives. Weighs up to 6 kilograms. The wingspan of the animal is 110 centimeters. Feathered completely white. The mandibles of the bird are yellow, do not reach the rear edge of the nostrils.

2. Whooper. Its yellow beaks are elongated, reaching to the nostrils. Whooper weighs from 7 to 14 kilograms. The feathered wingspan is approximately 270 centimeters. If others types of swans tolerant of coolness, the whoopers are thermophilic, inhabiting only the southern territories. The color of the animal is white.

3.mute swan. It is also snow-white, but there is an ocher coating on the head and neck. Weighs approximately 14 kilograms. The wingspan of the feathered reaches 240 centimeters. The bird has a red beak, and its elytra are black.

4. Trumpeter. it White Swan. Like the mute, it has an buffy coating on the neck and head. However, the feathered beak is completely black and weighs a couple of kilograms less.

5. American swan. It has a more rounded head and a shorter neck than other representatives of the genus. The American swan weighs a maximum of 10 kilograms. The upper beak of the bird is bright yellow, reaching the nostrils, like a whooper.

6. Black-necked swan. Slightly larger than the tundra. Usually the weight of the animal is 6.5-7 kilograms. The feathered body is white, and the neck, as the name implies, is black. The mandibles of representatives of the species are red.

7. Black Swan. Bird completely black, and her beak is completely red. The mass of the animal is small, as in the black-necked species. The feathered wingspan is 2 meters.

Sexual dimorphism is not developed in swans. Females do not differ from males in color or size. The latter, by the way, can show same-sex swan fidelity. Males of the black species, for example, sometimes pair up, driving the female who has laid her eggs out of the nest. The males themselves incubate and raise offspring.

Habitat and lifestyle

All swans stay near the water, because they get food in it. However, the diet and temperature preferences of different types of birds vary:

• tundra swans feed on small fish, amphibians and plants, nesting in the swamps of the Kola Peninsula and Chukotka.
• whooper chooses reed-covered shores of warm and large lakes, seas, catching algae and small invertebrates in them.
• mute eats crustaceans, mollusks and underwater plants, looking for them on the lakes of Europe and Asia.
• the trumpeter prefers the shallow lakes of the center and north, feeding on underwater vegetation and mollusks.
• the American swan is typical of the forest-tundra of the New World, where it lives on the overgrown banks of rivers, swamps, lakes and feeds not only on aquatic plants and animals, but also on cereal grains in the fields.
• black-necked swans live in the South, in particular, in Chile and Patagonia, wintering in Brazil and eating not only plants and aquatic animals, but also insects.
• The black swan lives in and on nearby islands, choosing fresh and shallow water bodies, and is a vegetarian.

White swans - female and male

migratory swan bird or not? The issue is relevant, since some individuals and even populations are not removed from their homes in winter. It occurs in warm areas. So, black-necked swans are not filmed every year from the south of the continent. Long flights are more often made by northern populations. In, for example, all 4 bird species living in the country are removed from their homes:

1. Tundra.
2. Shipun
3. Whooper.
4. American.

flight of swans performed by lining up in a wedge. The strongest individual moves at its head. Powerful air currents emanating from under its wings are transmitted to those flying from behind. So the weakest swans at the end of the wedge receive support, without incident they get to their wintering grounds.

Having arrived at the place and settled down on the pond, the birds amaze the audience with grace. It is expressed not only in the appearance of birds, but also in the manner of movements. They are slow, smooth. There is calmness and self-confidence in the movements of swans.

If a danger in the form of a golden eagle or a river osprey catches up, the swans dive under the water or, accelerating along it, stand on the wing. The most difficult thing for anseriforms to hide is when they are on the ground. Long acceleration required. In the water, paddle-like paws-blades help to push the body out. On the ground, it is more difficult to lift a 15-kilogram body with birds.

Swans are territorial birds, they do not like strangers on occupied lands. Their anseriformes are divided between pairs. It is not for nothing that the epithet "swan fidelity" exists. The birds are not only faithful to their partners, but do not part with them, constantly living in the family.

Driving out strangers, swans arch their necks and hiss like snakes. In addition, birds spread their powerful wings. The force of their impact, by the way, is enough to break the bones of an adult.

The belief that swan wintering bird associated with the attachment of animals to their homes. If it gets colder in them, the birds postpone mating and childbearing until better times.

If there is no food, anseriformes starve to exhaustion, but do not fly away. This is one of the reasons for the inclusion of all types of swans in the Red. To destroy a species, it is enough to destroy the places chosen by it. Birds cannot get used to new things.

Swan food

The neck of the swan allows him to lower his head to a meter depth. In shallow reservoirs, this allows you to capture silt with your beak along with hidden in it:

• crustaceans
• shellfish
• larvae
• plant roots

Not reaching the bottom, the birds grab the stems of grasses and algae, small fish. Some species of swans also feed on terrestrial vegetation. Therefore, grass is often plucked around bird nests. In the fields, the birds fell in love with cereals, especially their grains.

Representatives of the American species are not at all averse to eating corn and potatoes. Without leaving the water, the animals pluck the foliage from the coastal willows, bending the branches to the streams.

Swans forage by dipping their heads into the water

In winter, the foliage flies around, and the reservoirs are covered with ice. Swans - birds, problem solving flying to warmer climes or changing diet. To feast on the gifts of the fields in the cold, for example, almost all types of anseriformes are not averse. During the day, the hero of the article eats about a quarter of his own weight. In captivity, birds are forbidden to give:

1. Black bread. The digestive system of birds does not absorb it, which is fraught with disease.
2. Damaged products. Their use leads to food poisoning.
3. White bread. It is considered a classic feeding birds on park ponds. However, the product is also harmful to swans.

Ideal food in captivity are:

• steamed rice, millet
• feed without salt
• cereals
• greens
• chopped vegetables

Animal food for swans is replaced by production waste, eggs. Instead of water, birds like to lap up milk. As a dietary supplement for the cold season, swans perceive yeast. By weight, they should make up half a percent of the diet.

So chicks travel on mama

Reproduction and lifespan

Anseriform nests are built 2-3 meters in diameter. Like storks, swans use "bowls" for many years, patching up every year. Build from last year's foliage, branches, dry herbs. The female is mainly engaged in the construction of the nest. After, she lays from 3 to 5 eggs and incubates them, changing with the male, for 40 days.

Male swans incubate eggs worse, they can sit by, or forget to turn the clutch over. If the shortcomings allow the chicks to survive, the offspring matures only by the age of 4. On the scale of the life of swans, the figure is small.

The age of birds is at least 20 years. Most swans live 30-40. The legends tell about 150-year-old animals. Scientifically, such longevity is not confirmed.

Swan nest with offspring

However, in conversations about what bird is a swan more inventions. They are "nourished" by legends and fairy tales. There are swans on parcels from Baba Yaga, and enchanted princes, and reincarnated princesses.

The swan is mysterious and beautiful. It is no coincidence that in England it was recognized as a royal bird. From childhood, a person is accompanied by a fabulous image, personifying goodness, loyalty and nobility.

Real swan in nature it is no less attractive with its grandeur, grace, perfection. It is the largest of the waterfowl. The combination of beauty and strength impresses everyone who has seen flocks of flying swans. The name of the birds goes back to the ancient meanings of the words "brilliant", "sparkling".

Swan Features

The plumage of birds comes in three primary colors: dazzling white, gray and blue-black.

Bright accents can be red paws and a yellow or bright orange beak, the size of a head. The coloring is reflected in the names of two species: black and black-necked swans. The taxonomy of other birds reflects their voice data:

whooper swan

• mute swan- for the characteristic sounds made in a state of irritation;
• whooper swan- for trumpet screams in flight, audible over long distances.

The concept of "swan song" is known as the last manifestation of talent and fading life. But in nature beautiful swans do not sing, but rather shout.

mute swan

In the care of the chicks, the sounds made are similar to the barking of a dog - their vocal manifestations are so diverse. Other species are named after their main habitat:

american swan bird small size weighing up to 6 kg, inhabiting the dense forests of America, hard-to-reach places;

tundra swan- by nesting, it lives in the Eurasian tundra, in wetlands, in river deltas. The largest representatives are found among whoopers and muteers, the weight reaches 15 kg, and the wingspan is up to two meters.

The long neck corresponds in size to the length of the body of the bird, it allows you to get food from the bottom of the reservoir. The embodiment of grace in every curve made the expression "swan neck" a metaphor.

swan habitat

Water and air are the two main elements birds. In flight, the speed can reach 60-80 km / h. Strong flight muscles allow long flights of thousands of kilometers to the south and back to their native places.

It is noteworthy that swans rise to a height of up to 8000 m thanks to the beautiful plumage that warms the birds. During molting, there is a large loss of thick feathers, of which there are up to 25 thousand in one swan.

To move confidently on the ground do not allow short and not adapted to walking paws. Waddling resembles the movement of geese, but swans are less likely to get out for food on land.

The distribution of swans in Russia covers the northern and tundra forest zones: from the Kola Peninsula to the Crimea, from Kamchatka to Central Asia. Mute swan, tundra swan and whooper are common here.

All types of swans are migratory, wintering on the coast of warm seas or ice-free southern lakes. To see a wedge of flying swans in October is good luck and an impressive sight. The leader is ahead, the wingspan of which creates a special aerodynamic force in support of the rest of the birds. Sometimes the first-flying one is replaced alternately by others.

Aircraft collisions are tragic. Doom migratory birds inevitable, but the force of the impact is such that the damage will inevitably lead to the landing of the liner.

The nature and lifestyle of the swan

Swans spend most of their time on the water of large lakes with reed thickets. They swim slowly, majestically, confidently. In remote places, their white plumage attracts travelers like a phantom of light in the darkness.

The head immersed in water in search of food pulls the body along, creating a funny oval feather pillow of dazzling white with a small tail.

Nothing seems to disturb their peace. But in nature, dangers overtake everyone. Golden eagles and river ospreys attack proud birds. Swans can develop high speeds afloat or run through the water on takeoff and splashing their paws on the water surface.

Even by boat it is impossible to catch up with them. If the bird cannot take off, it dives and swims under water from danger. Swans are proud and do not tolerate neighbors nearby. They protect their territory, do not let strangers. A pair of swans do not like to be disturbed.

They can show aggression if someone encroaches on peace and a chosen habitat. A strike with a bird's wing can break a person's arm, and the beak is an additional weapon. Swans usually choose quiet and remote places to live, but sometimes settle in areas close to human habitation.

This is a sign that birds are protected and fed here. Only complete safety and comfort of living can humble the swans with their neighbors. Ornithologists have noticed that the most peaceful character of black swans, and cocky - in white mute.

Pictured is a black swan

Swan food

Birds feed mainly on plant food, which is found in reservoirs. They immerse their head under water and find roots, stems, shoots. In this they resemble ducks, which also dive for food.

Small animals, frogs, worms, shells and small fish also become their prey in shallow coastal waters. On the ground, they nibble grass, but prefer to be in the water, where they feed. There are periods of bad weather and high water levels that do not allow food to be obtained.

Swans starve and lose strength to such an extent that they cannot fly. But attachment to the chosen places keeps until better times. white swans especially gluttonous, for saturation the volume of food should be up to a quarter of their own weight. Therefore, the search for food takes a significant place in their lives.

Reproduction and lifespan of swans

Everyone knows that swans choose a couple only once in their lives, and they remain faithful to their partner.

The nest is built in remote places, overgrown with reeds or reeds, on the basis of last year's foliage and vegetation. Sizes are impressive up to 3 m in diameter. The arrangement is mainly done by the female. After laying 3-5 eggs, incubation lasts up to 40 days.

The male guards his swan and warns of danger. If the birds are alarmed, then the eggs fall asleep with fluff and branches, and they themselves circle in anticipation. Return to the nest may be after checking the territory. After five weeks, the chicks add worries to their parents. Swan – brood bird, heirs appear downy and ready to eat.

Guardianship lasts throughout the year, the family of swans always keeps together, even when the grown chicks are ready for a seasonal flight. Downy crumbs feed in shallow water on their own, but under the supervision of their parents.

The female often warms the chicks under the wing and allows them to climb onto her back. Young swans mature slowly, reaching puberty only by 4 years.

The life of swans is overgrown with legends, one of which is that they live up to 150 years. Bird ringing and tracking with beacons confirms a life expectancy of at least 20-25 years in natural conditions.

But such studies have appeared relatively recently. Life in captivity increases their lifespan to 30 years. Unfortunately, bird entered in . Its uniqueness lies in the fact that in addition to the natural life, there is a fabulous, mythological existence of the image of a swan.

This life birds of love originated in a distant history and accompanies the human world in the present with beautiful dreams and harmony. Many peoples treat swans as sacred birds, messengers and soothsayers. Swan secrets fascinate, and interest in birds does not fade away. The main thing is to preserve and pass on this amazing heritage of nature to posterity.

by the most beautiful birds not only among waterfowl, but also among all others, swans are rightfully considered. These truly regal birds with snow-white plumage and a gracefully curved long neck are indispensable heroes of epics, fairy tales and songs. And the ancient astronomers, fascinated by the beauty of this bird, assigned the name of Cygnus to one of the constellations.

In early spring, when water bodies are just beginning to free themselves from the ice cover, swans return to their homeland from warm countries. Their appearance is accompanied by loud, trumpet sounds, which white handsome men talk to each other. Swans are waterfowl, they settle where there are lakes and swamps, arrange their nests on islands, away from people and predatory animals.

Among waterfowl, swans are the largest. Their wingspan reaches two meters, and their weight can reach up to fifteen kilograms. But, despite such a large weight, swans are very well kept in the air and can fly thousands of kilometers during seasonal migrations.

These royal birds usually feed on herbaceous plants, which they get both on land and in water. Their long neck helps to get food from the bottom of water bodies. In addition to various grasses, swans also eat insect larvae, as well as small crustaceans and mollusks.

In family life, swans are distinguished by constancy. Once formed, a couple never part. Swans remember well their nests, which are used for several seasons in a row. Every year they improve and build on their dwelling, which can reach a diameter of two meters.

Only the female is engaged in incubation of eggs during the nesting period, and the male acts as a watchman. If some predator manages to get close to the nest, the swans bravely rush to it and beat it with their wide and strong wings.

Swans feed during the period of incubation of chicks away from the nest. Arriving at the lake, where they meet other swans, snow-white birds necessarily perform a greeting ritual. They swim on the surface of the water, noisily flapping their wings, and screaming loudly. Then the swans move, beautifully arching their long necks. Swan dances on the water leave an unforgettable impression.

Approximately forty days after the start of incubation, chicks covered with gray fluff appear in the nest. The chick is not at all like its snow-white parents, but really resembles the ugly duckling from the famous Andersen fairy tale.

When the chicks grow up, the parents begin to molt. Their beautiful feathers fall out and the birds lose their ability to fly. During this period, swans are especially cautious and shy.

In late autumn, when the first snow is already falling on the ground, the swans gather in flocks and fly away in a beautiful wedge to warm countries until next spring.

All species of swans are listed in the Red Book and hunting for these majestic birds is strictly prohibited.

The swan is a waterfowl, another member of the anseriformes order of the duck family. It is distinguished by a long lifespan, a tendency to form an inextricable pair and quick wit. Due to its noble appearance, the swan is considered a majestic and aesthetically attractive bird, personifying grace, grace, and fidelity. Almost all species of swan are listed in the Red Book.

Description of swans

Despite the fact that there are several types of swans with their own size and plumage color, it is still possible to derive some of their common external features and characteristics. Thus, these are the largest birds. Their color can vary from white to black. There are also swans with a gray tone of the pen. Males and females among these representatives of waterfowl are extremely difficult to distinguish among themselves externally - the same body size, the same beak shape, the same neck length and the same color of plumage.

The wingspan of swans can reach 2 meters in length, body weight - more than 15 kilograms. The paws of the swans are small, short, which makes the birds seem awkward when walking, moving waddling from side to side. The flying muscles of swans are very well developed, which allows them to make long-distance flights, overcoming thousands of kilometers.

The smallest among the swans is the tundra swan, for which it is also called small. Its body weight is up to 6 kilograms, the wing length is up to 550 millimeters. Like the whooper swan, it has a yellow color on the sides of the beak, but it does not reach the back edge of the nostrils. Young tundra swans differ in color from adults: their belly is light, and their back is slightly grayish.

The largest swan is the mute swan. Its body weight can even reach 22 kilograms with a wing length of 620 millimeters. But usually it weighs from 13 to 20 kilograms. It has a pure white plumage, often with a reddish-rusty coating in the head and neck. At the base of the swan's beak is a black "bridle". The neck is curved (letter "S"), the tail is wedge-shaped. The swan keeps its beak down. At a young age, their belly is slightly brownish, and their back is gray-brown.

types of swans

Today, there are 7 types of swans, which include:

1. Cygnus cygnus - whooper swan;
2. Cygnus olor - mute swan;
3. Cygnus buccinator - swan - trumpeter;
4. Cygnus bewickii - tundra swan;
5. Cygnus columbianus - American swan;
6. Cygnus melanocoryphus - black-necked swan;
7. Cygnus atratus - black swan.

The habits of swans

The mute swan can actually make hissing sounds that resemble the voice of domestic geese or the loud hiss of a snake. He and the black swan are able to fold their wings on their backs in a “house” - not pressing tightly to the body and leaving them slightly raised. Unlike the mute, the last of them (the black swan) has a beautiful voice: individuals greet each other precisely in voice, lowering and raising their heads at the same time.

Swan - the trumpeter has a stentorian, trumpet voice. Quite often, swans swim out to the middle of the reservoir and begin to trumpet loudly, resting their heads on the water. So they express their dissatisfaction or simply convene relatives. The whooper swan emits a semblance of whistling cooing in flight, but this is not the voice of a bird, but just a “singing” plumage: at the moment of flight, the air comes into contact with the feathers on their wings and they make such charming sounds. A similar effect is no longer characteristic of any other species of swans.

Loyalty of swans

All swans are monogamous birds. They form a couple once and for all, which is why they are the personification of fidelity, beauty and romance. From year to year, swans can use the same nesting site, flying to the chosen place and correcting their “home”. Very loyal to the chosen partners. Both parents take part in building the nest, feeding the brood, raising the young and protecting it. That is, swans are extremely loyal to their family.

Where does the swan live

Swans live in both the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and throughout Eurasia. The black swan is a typical representative of the Australian continent. In recent years, the habitat of black swans has also covered Europe, where they occupy a place not only in zoos, but also in ordinary parks. The black-necked swan lives in South America.

There are 4 species of swans in Russia: the tundra swan (occupies mainly the tundra and forest-tundra zones, preferring water bodies from the Kolyma River to the Kola Peninsula, also found on some northern islands), the whooper swan (settles in the forest taiga, forest tundra and tundra, choosing Kamchatka water bodies, often in the Baikal region, the northern part of Kazakhstan and in the lower reaches of the Volga), the mute swan (found from the Far East region to Europe, as well as in the Baltic countries, on the Danube River, Lake Chany, the Ussuri River, in Transbaikalia) and the American swan (its nesting sites are seen in the Far East).

What does a swan eat

As the vast majority of lamellar beaks, swans feed on aquatic plants, small algae, often eating them directly with insects and mollusks. Swans willingly eat grain - for example, corn and wheat. They often pinch leaves from willow branches hanging over the water, feed on coastal grass.

Swan: Red Book

Almost all swans are listed in the all-Russian and regional Red Books of the Russian Federation. The mute swan is included in the Red Book of the Chelyabinsk region, the Sverdlovsk region, Bashkortostan and Belarus. The whooper swan is a representative of the Red Books of the Kirov region, the Chelyabinsk region, the Khabarovsk region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, it is also listed in the Red Book of Russia. The tundra swan is generally a very rare, single species, therefore it is also included in the All-Russian Red Book. In addition, whooper swans are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, as well as Buryatia and some other administrative territories.

Hunting for swans

Officially, swan hunting has been completely banned since the 1960s., which gave some increase in their numbers. For the most part, all types of swans today form a group of decorative waterfowl and are kept in nurseries, reserves, zoos, park areas - where there are reservoirs. In general, swans easily take root in captivity, decorating farmsteads, sanatoriums, recreation parks, so there are wild and semi-wild individuals.

Most often, swan down is of interest - soft, light and retains heat well. The taste of the meat of this bird can only be learned from the testimonies of the writer and avid hunter S. T. Aksakov, who noted that it is so tough that 2-day soaking does not even help, but tastes like the meat of ordinary wild geese, in which it is also much juicier and softer.

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