tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION:

• Length: 36 inches Wingspan: 85 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 with variably-sized yellow spot at base

• Culmen somewhat concave

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

• Straight demarcation on forehead between black bill and white feather-         ing

• Black legs and feet

• Entirely white plumage

• Sexes similar

Immature:

• Inconclusive information

• Body grayer than adult

Similar species:

The very large tundra 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 tundra 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
enclosed by black, and the white feathering on the head extends in a
v shape into the dark bill. In the far northwest, a subspecies of the
tundra swan shows more yellow at the base of the bill and could be
confused with the Alaskan whooper swan. The whooper swan has
yellow in the bill that goes beyond the nostril.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status: N/A
Breeding Habitat: N/A
Nest Location: N/A
Nest Type: N/A
Clutch Size: 5
Length of Incubation: 35-40 days
Days to Fledge: 60-70+
Number of Broods: 1
Diet: Almost exclusively green plant matter, 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 R
      Su - Summer: June, July, August
      Fall: September, October, November R

      Winter: December, January, February R

 

 

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