trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION

• Length: 45 inches Wingspan: 95 inches

• Large, long-necked waterbird with short legs and a short duck-like bill

• Long neck held straight up with a kink at base

Adult:

• Black bill

• Culmen straight

• Black of bill extends up to eye but does not encircle it

• V shaped demarcation on forehead between black bill and white feathering

• Black legs and feet

• Entirely white plumage

• Sexes similar

Immature:

• Body grayer than adult

Similar species:

The very large trumpeter swan is unlikely to be confused with anything but
other swans. White pelicans, whooping cranes, wood storks, and snow geese
are all white birds that from a great distance could look like swans but all
have black primaries. The adult mute swan can be told from the adult
trumpeter swan by its orange and black knobby bill. The adult trumpeter
swan is very similar to the adult tundra swan but it is slightly larger, has a
straight culmen, the bill has no yellow spot, the eye is almost enclosed by
black, and the white feathering on the head extends in a v shape into the
dark bill.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status:N/A
Breeding Habitat:Wetland-open water
Nest Location:N/A
Nest Type:N/A
Clutch Size:3-9
Length of Incubation: 33-37 days
Days to Fledge:91-119
Number of Broods:1
Diet: Almost exclusively green plant matter and seeds; lesser quantities
of aquatic invertebrates

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May
      Su - Summer: June, July, August
      Fall: September, October, November

      Winter: December, January, February Acc

 

 

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