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Tundra Swan
Photo: Mark Boyd
Audubon Photography Awards |
Swan is the honorary symbol for wisdom, balance, graceful poise and inner beauty. Inner beauty is brought to light by kindness, compassion, love and honesty. The spiritual energy of the swan inspires us to seek clarity within ourselves.
The swan represents peace and tranquility with its serene presence on the water. Seeing a swan gliding on a lake can evoke feelings of serenity and tranquility.
Female swans are called pens, males are cobs and young swans are called cygnets (sig-nets). A group of swans is called a herd, bevy or flock. Swans in flight are called a wedge or a flight. Swans on the ground are called a bank, most likely because they flock next to the banks of rivers and lakes. I would share the reasons for calling them pens and cobs, but I find several explanations and don't know which is the reliable one.
The Mute Swan, Trumpeter Swan, Whooper Swan and Tundra Swan live in the Northern Hemisphere. The Black Swan, the Black-necked Swan and the Coscoroba Swan live in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1984, the Mute Swan was declared the National animal of Denmark, where it is a cultural symbol. It is the main character in Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling.
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| Trumpeter Swan |
Trumpeter swans get their name from their deep, resonant 2-note call. They almost always have solid black bills, with the black markings extending to the eyes. The bill is typically straight, and there is often a red 'lipstick' marking where the upper and lower bills meet. Trumpeter swans are larger than Tundra swans. Tundra swans usually have yellow markings below the eyes. The trumpeter swan is the largest waterfowl in North America and the largest swan in the world. The trumpeter is the largest, tundra swans fly the farthest, and mute swans are the most aggressive.
The trumpeter is native to the United States with a remarkable recovery record. In 2015, the estimated population size exceeded 60,000. In 1932, a total of 69 trumpeter swans were known to live in the U.S. The near extinction was caused by inadequate wildlife regulations that resulted in over-harvesting for the ornamental feathers trade.
Tundra swans live up to their name by breeding in Arctic and subarctic regions; they migrate south in the winter. They are also known as 'whistling swans' because of the sound their wings make when a flock flies overhead.
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| Mute Swan |
Mute swans can fool us as they glide gracefully across the water.... but, watch out cuz they can become one of the world's most hostile waterfowl species while nesting and raising their young. They've been known to turn over kayaks and canoes and continue to attack the person in the water. The mute swan is anything but silent, making a variety of bland sounds. However, it is the least vocal of the swan species, and that explains their name.
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| Black Swan |
The Black Swan is the only entirely black-colored swan in the world. It's bill is a deep orange-red with a narrow white band toward the end. Black swans are native to Australia.
If someone refers to something as being 'a black swan,' they're referring to a completely unexpected or unpredictable, but extremely high-impact, event. Examples: Covid pandemic, terrorist attacks of September 11.
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| Coscoroba Swan |
The Coscoroba Swan is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands off the southern tip of South America. It is the smallest of the birds called
swans and looks a lot like a goose.
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| Whooper Swan |
Whooper Swan have a triangular patch of yellow on their black bill. This species lives in Asia, Europe and North America. The name refers to the call of this swan...a series of loud 'whoops' kinda like bugle calls.
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| Black-necked Swan |
The Black-necked Swan is found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands and Uruguay. It is the largest of South-American waterfowl. It has a striking blue bill with a large red knob at its base.
