About
North America’s largest waterfowl is a picture of elegance on the water, but transitioning to flight can be awkward. The swan uses its short legs to paddle along the surface for as long as 100 yards before rising into the air. Trumpeter swans were nearly extinct in the 1930s due to overhunting for their feathers (used for pillow stuffing and gloves). Populations have increased and these birds are being reintroduced into areas capable of supporting, breeding, and wintering swan populations. Their name comes from the deep “trumpet” tones the swans can make when they forcefully exhale. The most common call is a nasal, single or double honking like the sound of a French horn.
Most mammals, including humans, only have seven neck vertebrae, so they are not very flexible. The trumpeter swan’s neck has 24 vertebrae and is equal to the length of its body. Long necks are very flexible and ideal foraging in deeper water. The swan tips its head down and its tail up, like a duck, to snap off vegetation. Their wide, flat bills are adapted for grazing on aquatic plants with serrated, tooth-like ridges (lamellae) along the edge that are used like a strainer when feeding. Their bills are also used to preen and waterproof their feathers. An oily substance, secreted by the uropygial gland located above the base of the tail is spread throughout the feathers. Webbed toes make the swan a swift and powerful swimmer. When threatened, the trumpeter dives underwater and clings to vegetation; resurfacing, it may just show its head until it is sure the danger has passed. Usually seen in a family flock, in fall and winter the trumpeter swan may form a larger social group of 25 to 30 swans. For a short period in late summer, waterfowl molt their wing feathers and are temporarily flightless. Nonbreeding trumpeter swans molt first, then males; the females molt last, staying at the nest to guard the young against predators. Both parents look after the young, often through the first winter of their lives. This period may include a long migration to winter quarters, teaching the young birds the route to traditional stop-over and wintering sites that have lakes with abundant aquatic plants. Most migration is by day, with trumpeter swans flying in a “V” formation and reaching air speeds up to 60 mph.
Habitat
Found in the U.S. and Canada, from parts of Alaska east to Saskatchewan, south to Washington and Oregon. They prefer ponds, lakes, and rivers in wooded settings, with extensive beds of sedges, bulrushes, and cattails.
Diet
Herbivorous. Trumpeter swans spend up to eight hours a day eating about 20 pounds of marsh and aquatic vegetation.
Physical Characteristics
Their body length is up to five feet, and they can weigh 25 pounds or more. Their wingspan is six and a half feet. Lifespan can be up to 30 years.
Location Within the Zoo: A new swan habitat is being built toward the end of the Entry Promenade. Until it’s completed, find the swans in the lower aviary. See Zoo Map.
