Mute Swan: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © missoulabirdnerd · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Cygnus olor
- Family
- Ducks, Geese, and Swans
- Size
- About 150 cm
- Habitat
- Lakes, canals, rivers and wet meadows
- Found in
- Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania
The key marks
Orange bill with a black knob at the base, and the neck often held in a graceful S-curve. Whooper and Bewick's Swans have black-and-yellow bills, no knob, and hold the neck straight.
Voice
Mostly quiet; hisses and snorts. Flight sound of the wings is typical.
Good to know
Its wings make a loud, throbbing 'wao-wao' sound in flight that you can hear from far away.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Whooper Swan. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in lakes, canals, rivers and wet meadows. It is especially common in the United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.