The Audubon Mural Project Adds Trumpeter Swans to its Uptown Flock
A stunning mosaic created by artists Carlos Pinto and John Sear turns recycled materials into an unforgettable wall.
Adult and juveniles. Photo: Gary Minish/Audubon Photography Awards
Cygnus buccinator
Conservation status | Trumpeter Swans once nested over most of North America, but disappeared rapidly as civilization advanced westward; by the 1930s, fewer than 100 remained south of Canada. With protection from hunting and disturbance, populations have rebounded in parts of the northwest. More recent efforts have focused on reintroducing the species to areas thought to be part of the former breeding range, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. |
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Family | Ducks and Geese |
Habitat | Lakes, ponds, large rivers; in winter, also bays. Favors large but shallow freshwater ponds, or wide, slow-flowing rivers, with lots of vegetation. Most of current range is in forested regions, but at one time was also common on northern prairies. |
Takes food from underwater, or on or above water's surface; sometimes on land, especially in winter. To forage in deeper water, swans upend with tail up and neck extending straight down, finding food by touch with bill.
4-6, up to 9. Whitish, becoming nest-stained. Female does most of incubating but male often does some; eggs hatch in 32-37 days. Young: can swim when less than 1 day old. Both adults tend young, leading them to feeding sites. Young are not fully capable of flight until 3-4 months after hatching.
can swim when less than 1 day old. Both adults tend young, leading them to feeding sites. Young are not fully capable of flight until 3-4 months after hatching.
Mostly plant material. Adults eat mainly stems, leaves, and roots of aquatic plants, including pondweed, sedges, rushes, arrowleaf, wild celery, bulrush, burreed, and many others. May eat terrestrial grasses and waste crops in winter. Young eat many insects and other small invertebrates, mainly during first 2 weeks after hatching.
Usually forms pairs at age 2-4 years, but nests for first time at age 4-7 years. Often mates for life. Nest site is surrounded by water, as on small island, beaver or muskrat house, floating platform. Nest (built by both sexes, although female may do most of work) is a low mound of plant material, several feet in diameter, with a depressed bowl in the center. Same nest may be used in subsequent years.
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A stunning mosaic created by artists Carlos Pinto and John Sear turns recycled materials into an unforgettable wall.
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