Mute Swan

Voice

Not truly mute: a hissing, angry hhorr in nest defence and a hoarse grunting gyorr between pair members. The distinctive sound is mechanical, the rhythmic singing wiew-wiew-wiew of the wings of a bird passing overhead, audible all year and unique among European swans.

Identification

Very large, pure white swan with an orange-red bill, black base and a black knob that is larger in the male and swells in spring. The neck is usually held in an elegant S, the wings often arched over the back. Juveniles are dingy grey-brown with a pinkish-grey bill, keeping traces of it into their second calendar year.

Confusion species

Whooper and Bewick's Swans have yellow on the bill base, no knob, a straight-held neck and loud bugling voices. Feral and domestic-type birds cause more trouble than either real species: judge bill pattern and neck carriage rather than size or whiteness.

Habitat

Shallow fresh water with abundant submerged vegetation: town ponds, canals, ditches, gravel pits, peat meadows and quiet river arms. In winter also on brackish water and sheltered estuaries, and grazing in flocks on grassland and harvested arable fields.

Range and movements

Breeds from north-west and central Europe to Central Asia; common and largely sedentary in the Netherlands. In Spain it is essentially a feral park bird, with only the odd genuine vagrant in hard winters; the natural centre of gravity lies around the Baltic and the North Sea.

• Resident
• Breeding (summer)
• Winter
• Passage
• dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Where and when to look

In March and April watch territorial males busking: wings arched, neck drawn back, paddling with both feet together to drive off a rival. For the wing music, stand by open water on a still winter morning and wait for birds to pass low overhead.

Conservation status

Not threatened, and increased in north-west Europe once persecution stopped and winter feeding became normal. The main causes of death are collisions with power lines, lead poisoning from discarded fishing tackle and entanglement in line. Local conflict with farmers arises where flocks graze crops.