Whooper Swan

     The Whooper Swan is a large and heavy northern hemisphere Swan with a wingspan that reaches 3 m. It’s known to be the Eurasian counterpart of the North American Trumpeter Swan. The Whooper Swan’s common name refers to the loud ‘whooping’ calls that it produces.

     The Whooper swan is entirely a white bird, with black legs and feet. It can be distinguished from the smaller Bewick’s Swan in that the wedge-shaped yellow coloration of the bill extends beyond the nostrils, with the rest of the bill being black. Where in the Bewick’s Swan, the yellow patch is small and rounded.

     Whooper swans breed across northern Eurasia. Most of the birds that spend the winter in Britain and Ireland, originate from the population that breeds in Iceland. While the population of Whooper swans that breed in north-western Europe, winters in Denmark and parts of Germany. Also there are two western Siberian breeding populations; one winters in the eastern Mediterranean while the other migrates to the area around the Caspian Sea.

     The female Whooper swan produces a clutch of 3 – 7 eggs, which she incubates for almost 35 days. Young cygnets will have fully fledged after a further 3 months. The Whooper Swan is also the national bird of Finland.

 

Place of originEurasia
UsePreservation
Weight

Male: 8.5 – 12.7 kg

female: 7.5 – 8.7 kg

Egg colorCreamy to yellow

 

8 - Whooper Swan
The female Whooper Swan in her nest by Bengt Nyman
9 - Whooper Swan
A couple of Whooper Swans by Susanne Nilsson
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A group of Whooper Swans