Whistling swan
The tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus ) is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (Cygnus bewickii ) of the Palaearctic and the whistling swan (C. columbianus ) proper of the Nearctic. Birds from eastern Russia (roughly east of the Taymyr Peninsula) are sometimes separated as the subspecies C. c. jankowskii, but this is not widely accepted as distinct, with most authors including them in C. c. bewickii. Tundra swans are sometimes separated in the subgenus Olor together with the other Arctic swan species.
Bewick's swan was named in 1830 by William Yarrell after the engraver Thomas Bewick, who specialised in illustrations of birds and animals. Cygnus is the Latin for "swan", and columbianus comes from the Columbia River, the type locality.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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WaterfowlWaterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans. They ...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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ColonialColonial animals live in large aggregations composed of two or more conspecific individuals in close association with or connected to, one another....
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withThe Tundra swan is a small swan that lives in Holarctic regions. Its feathers are white, though sometimes its head and neck feathers become slightly red if it is in an area of iron-rich food. It has black legs, feet and beak and close to its eyes there is a distinctive yellow mark. Babies are gray with pink beak, feet and legs. They develop adult plumage within two years.
Tundra swans are natives of regions of North America, Asia, Europe, north Africa, and the Caribbean. Tundra swans of North America are migratory and consist of two populations: an eastern population and a western one. During the summer mating season, the western birds inhabit Alaska's southwestern coast, from the Aleutian Islands to Point Hope, and above Canada's Arctic circle. During the winter, they live in the Arctic slope in Alaska to the Californian Central Valley. In the summer mating season, the eastern birds live in the Pacific Ocean and migrate southward via Canada, and into North America's Great Lakes region. During the wintering season, the swans inhabit Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. Tundra swans live in freshwater pools, lakes, grasslands, and marshes. At the time of migration, they occur in lakes and rivers along their migratory route.
Tundra swans are social birds and interact with others within their population. The most stable unit for a swan is the family, which consists of both parents, the 3 to 7 cygnets they have produced that year, and sometimes young from previous years. These swans forage by dipping their heads and upending while in shallow water. They graze on land, digging with their bills. They will sometimes feed when it is a moonlit night. Aggressive encounters are related to dominance in a hierarchy. Males establish dominance by fighting to protect their families. Swans in the same family use pre-flight signals to ensure that family members take off at the same time. Males tend to lead flights in the autumn and the females in the spring. Such signals include opening the wings, head bobbing, neck stretching and bending repeatedly prior to flight, and other visual displays.
Tundra swans are herbivorous and consume plants, including grasses, sedges, and smartweed. Grasses they eat include mannagrass and seagrass. The swans prefer the flowers, stems, tubers and roots. They eat some invertebrates like shellfish.
Tundra swans are monogamous, staying with the same mate over their lifetime. They choose mates of similar age and size, and so the largest and oldest pairs are generally more dominant. To help in establishing dominance, males fight in order to protect their mates. Mating pairs breed every year, in late May until late June, both parents helping in raising their young. They build nests of vegetation, often sedges, moss and grasses, placing the material on dry elevated ground. Females lay 3-5 yellowish to white eggs and incubation lasts for 31-32 days. The cygnets are cared for by both male and female and remain in the nest for three days. The young fledge around 60-75 days after they hatch. Until about the age of 2, the cygnets follow their mother closely. Sometimes siblings will rejoin their family, either with a mate or without one. Tundra swans can reproduce at 3 years old, but may not begin mating until the age of 4 or 5.
Tundra swans are threatened by the loss and degradation of wetland habitats as a result of drainage (e.g. peat-extraction, petroleum pollution, and changing wetland management practices) and the mowing and burning of reeds. The Arctic breeding habitat is threatened by gas and oil exploration. The species is further threatened by oil pollution (oil spills) in pre-migrational staging and molting areas, from collisions with powerlines, from lead poisoning from fishing weights and lead shot ingestion on wintering grounds and during migration. The Tundra swan is a victim of poaching in north-west Europe and hunting for sport in North America as well as hunting for subsistence in all of its range.
The global population of the Tundra swan, according to the Birdlife resource, is estimated to be 317,000-336,000 individuals, including 5,000-6,000 pairs in Europe, 50-10,000 wintering birds in China and 100-10,000 breeding pairs in Russia. Currently Tundra swans are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...