Assorted Swans

W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary has several species of swans patrolling its grounds.  Most well known is the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator), which is the largest species of waterfowl native to North America.  However, these are easy to confuse with their slightly smaller cousin, the tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus), because both of these swan species are primarily white in color with black beaks.  They both breed in Canada and the northern United States and migrate to the southern United States during the winter months.

This female swan is protecting her eggs from me.

Black swans, or Cygnus atratus, are native to Australia.  Like other swans, a pair of black swans will mate for life, and their diets are completely herbivorous.  They have no natural predators. 

A black swan stares at me after chasing a duck.

Whooper swans, with the scientific name Cygnus cygnus, are now considered a threatened species.  They can be distinguished from other swan species by the characteristic yellow spot on their beaks.  The W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary has several hybrids between a trumpeter swan and a whooper swan that are affectionately known as trooper swans.  They look like trumpeter swans with a white patch on their beaks that would be yellow if they were whooper swans. 

Maybe this whooper swan is the parent of a trooper swan!

Did you know?  Swan males are the only birds that have a penis.

References: http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/docs/WI2Trumpeter_Swans.pdf

http://scienceray.com/biology/zoology/some-little-known-facts-about-swans/

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/birds/waterfowl/swan_black.html

http://www.kbs.msu.edu/visit/birdsanctuary/bird-news/613-meet-the-trooper-swan

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/whooperswan/index.aspx