See all posts in the Birds of Carver County series
The tundra swan is very familiar to those living near the estuaries of our country’s coastal states, where many thousands spend their winter months. Those of us in the Great Plains may see tundra swans as they fly to and from their breeding grounds in the far northern tundra along the Arctic Ocean.
Perhaps more than any other bird species, swans have been incorporated into paintings, poetry, hieroglyphics, cultural legends and romantic themes of love, fidelity and longevity. However, Carver County’s relationship with the tundra swan is fleeting as we see it migrate in spring and fall. If we are lucky, we may see it stop for a snack in our plowed and snowless fields. We can look and listen for it to pass overhead in late February, March and early April, then again in November.
To separate the identity of a tundra swan from our more familiar and resident trumpeter swan, we need a camera and a telephoto lens, or we can listen for their calls. Trumpeter swans sound like musical instruments – bugles or trumpets come to mind. Tundra swans can remind us of baying hounds at a distance. Listening to web-based recordings can help us distinguish between the two species. They are overhead only for a few seconds, so familiarity will help. Setting aside the need for ornithological accuracy, all of us can enjoy the experience as flocks of swans glide gracefully above us.
The scientific name of Cygnus columbianus comes from the Greek word for swan and the Columbia River which was near the Lewis and Clark expedition when they recorded seeing this species in their journals. In comparison to the trumpeter swan, their journal reflects: “the small differs only from the large in size and in note: it is about one fourth less, and its note is entirely different. It cannot be justly imitated by the sound of letters; it begins with a kind of whistling sound, and terminates in a round full note, louder at the end: this note is as loud as that of the large species; whence it might be denominated the whistling swan: its habits, color, and contour, appears to be precisely those of the larger species: these birds were first found below the great narrows of the Columbia, near the Chilluckittequaw nation.”
A “swan song” has become a phrase to refer to a final notable endeavor at the end of a career. The mythology of the Greeks, Aesop’s fables, and ancient popular beliefs contend that a dying swan produces a beautiful song. In 1898 a zoologist reported that a fatally wounded swan sang musical notes as it glided to the ground.
Smaller than trumpeters, tundra swans weigh 10 to 18 pounds, are four to five feet long and have a wingspan of six to seven feet. A monogamous pair will be accompanied by their offspring as they travel south from the Arctic in autumn and then back north with them in the spring. The juveniles, known as cygnets, have pinkish bills, legs and feet, and some gray feathers. Adults will usually have all-white plumage, black legs and black bills. A distinguishing yellow spot between eyes and bill helps confirm their identity. The shape of its bill can also separate it from a trumpeter.
In the late months of winter, the sight of these large white birds, seemingly an arm’s length away, can be breathtaking. If it isn’t calling, don’t worry about its identity – the best you can do is note ”What a beautiful swan!”
For more information:
- The Journals of Lewis and Clark. LINK
- The Sibley Guide to Birds, David Allen Sibley
- Birds in Minnesota, Robrt B. Janssen
- Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Janssen, Tessen, and Kennedy
- The Audubon Society’s Encyclopedia of North American Birds, John K. Terres
- Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Online: All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology LINK
