xxbonegirl11xx's Identifications

Photographed in High Park, Toronto is a Cygnus olor, commonly known as the mute swan. The mute swan lives in many different types of wetland habitats such as marshes, slowly flowing rivers, and the edges of lakes (Baldassare, 2014). This particular swan was seen on the shore of the Grenadier Pond.
Mute swans are native to north and central Eurasia, and north of Africa (Baldassarre, 2014). Wild populations of the mute swan breed in southern Sweden, Denmark, northern Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Siberia (Baldassarre, 2014). They are recorded to have been domesticated in areas of Belgium, the north of France, Switzerland, Turkey and Australia, and the United Kingdom (Baldassarre, 2014). They were introduced to North America multiple times in the early 1900s (Conover & Kania, 1999). Wild populations of the birds are now established along the Atlantic Coast of America, parts of the Pacific Coast, and the lower Great Lakes (Baldassarre, 2014). They were also introduced to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan (Baldassarre, 2014).
The size and weight of the mute swan increases with age, as it does with most animals, though in adulthood, the male swan is larger than the female. One particular study showed that male and female mute swans do not breed in spring until they met the minimum weights of 10.6 kg and 8.8 kg, respectively (Reynolds, 1972). The body size of mute swans varies from 140-160cm, with a wingspan of 200-240cm (Svensson et al., 2009). Adult swans can live to 30 years in the wild (Birkhead & Perrins, 1986), and even twice as longer in captivity (Brown, Linton & Rees, 1992).
The diet of a mute swan consists primarily of the leafy portions of freshwater or seawater aquatic plants, and some of their stems and roots (Baldassarre, 2014). Bailey, Petrie and Badzinski (2007) found that mute swans in the coastal marshes of the lower Great Lakes mainly consumed pondweed, chara, coontail, slender naiad, waterweed, wild celery, arrowhead, and wild rice. Additionally, personal observation showed that the park visitors sometimes feed the mute swans of High Park, bread and grains, even at the time the swan was photographed, despite Toronto city’s official signs prohibiting the action, as the birds are incapable of properly digesting the foods.
Mute swans are monogamous, and usually mate for life (Baldassarre, 2014). Breeding generally starts at ages 3-4 usually a bit earlier for the females than the males (Perrins & Reynolds, 1967). Male swans aggressively maintain their territories for courtship displays, nesting, and foraging, and may occupy it throughout the year varying on the weather during winter and food accessibility (Perrins & Reynolds, 1967). Courtship displays, which begin in the winter, are rather graceful to watch, and have been one of the many reasons for why the mute swans were domesticated. During courtship, as observed by Boase (1959), the main pre-copulatory behavior is a mutual, slow head turning when facing each other, head dipping, and other movements that gradually become more synchronized. After copulation, the pair partly rise out of the water, their bodies facing each other and touching, their necks raised high, and bills pointing to the sky (Boase, 1959). They lower their bills, and then turn their heads from side to side as they slowly recede back into the water (Boase, 1959). The mute swans go on to nest during springtime, having an average clutch size of six eggs (Perrins & Reynolds, 1967). The female incubates the eggs, as the male aggressively guards. After hatching, the females and males both care for the young swan, known as cygnets (Baldassarre, 2014).
The mute swan is named as such due to it being a mostly silent bird. Adult swans use 8-10 different calls depending on the situation, whether courting, greeting or interacting within a group, including a loud cry, a call made by a female to her cygnets, and a call given when lost (Baldassarre, 2014).
The adult mute swans are rather large, and aggressive when they need to be, meaning they have few predators. The mute swans guard their eggs and cygnets very well, but mammalian predators such as the striped skunk, opossum, and raccoon are known to be able to steal a very small percentage of the eggs. (Conover & Kania, 1999). Additionally, foxes and minks can harm a small percentage of adults and cygnets (Brown et al., 1992).
Mute swans have flourished in the wild and in urban areas, due to their adaptability and few predators. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (2012) has qualified the mute swan as a least concern species, meaning it is not threatened, near threatened or dependent on conservation for survival. They also state that mute swans have a very large population size and range, with a population trend that seems to be increasing (BirdLife International, 2012).
Mute swans are fairly easily domesticated, and have been done so for a long time. Did you know that in the Bishop’s Palace in Wells, England, the swans ring a bell when in want of food? They had been trained in the 1870s, a habit they continue to do so even today (Rambridge, 2013).
In conclusion, mute swans have been described as “Mysterious, beautiful” (Yeats, 1970) by many throughout history, but they are also aggressive, live in many parts of the world, and are adaptable to life in the wild or captivity.