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Photo: G. Bradley
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Latin name: Cygnus olor
Size: Approximately 150cm. Wingspan up to 240cm. Mute swans are our heaviest flying birds. A full grown bird can weigh up to
12kg.
Distribution: Found throughout most of the UK.
Months seen: All year round
Life Span: Up to 40 years
Habitat: Lakes, reservoirs and rivers
Food: Aquatic vegetation
Special features: The mute swan is a familiar sight on many of the rivers, lakes and ponds of Britain. It is all white, with an orange bill which has a black patch and a black knob at the base.
Most birds have between 1,500 and 3,000 feathers, but some swans can have over 25,000.
Because mute swans are so heavy, to take off from water they have to flap their wings and paddle along the surface of the water until they get airborne.
Once paired up, some adult swans will remain together for life.
 Nest building starts around the end of March. The nest is approximately
200cm across and about 80cms deep, usually constructed from dry reeds.
 The female swan lays between 5 and 12 eggs, and the pair take turns incubating them and fending off anyone or anything which comes near the nest.
 After about 35 days the eggs hatch, and within a few hours the grey coloured chicks, called cygnets, are ready to take to the water with their parents.
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 After two months the cygnets start to look
scruffy. They still have their soft downy feathers, but their new plumage starts to grow through.
 After four months they are able to fly. The cygnets retain some
grey feathers until after their first winter.
At the age of two or three they will become sexually mature, and start looking for a mate of their own. Although mute swans can live for up to 40 years, many die before they are four years old.
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Did You Know?
Richard the Lionheart is said to have brought swans to Britain from Cyprus after his 3rd crusade, and for centuries swans have been considered 'royal property'.
Wetland Birds Identification Chart
"The Mute Swan" available in the Nature Shop
UK Safari Wildfowl Section
UK Safari Bird Section
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