Bird name:

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnus

Order

ANSERIFORMES

Family

Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Code 4

WHOS

Code 6

CYGCYG

ITIS

174990

Breeding Location:

Grasslands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Thought to pair for life, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Accidental in North America

Egg Color:

Pale yellow

Number of Eggs:

4 - 6

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Heap of moss, reeds, or grass.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Whooper Swan: Large, white swan with black and yellow bill; broad, yellow patch covers at least half of upper mandible. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is pale gray-brown and has pink bill with black tip. Rare visitor to Alaska.

Range and Habitat

Whooper Swan: Breeds mainly across northern Eurasia, including Iceland. Uncommon but regular in the winter on the outer Aleutian Islands; very rare elsewhere in Alaska.

Breeding and Nesting

Whooper Swan: Four to six pale yellow eggs are laid on a large mound of reeds, sedges, and other plants, usually close to water. Female incubates eggs for approximately 35 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Whooper Swan: Diet consists of aquatic plants, grass, grains, and tubers.

Vocalization

Whooper Swan: Makes a low-pitched "whoop-whoop" in flight and a single bugled note when alarmed.

Similar Species

Whooper Swan: Bewick's (Tundra) Swan is much smaller and has shorter neck and less yellow on bill. Mute Swan is smaller with dull red to orange bill. Trumpeter Swan has mostly black bill.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Upper mandible

The upper part of the bill.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America