Bright, snow-white plumage is the main decoration of a mute swan. It personifies purity, fidelity and nobility. Not by chance it’s white swans that are present in wedding decorations, characterizing a strong marriage. This is the largest swan, wingspan which can reach two and a half meters.
Content
- 1 Description
- 2 Habitat
- 3 Lifestyle
- 3.1 What to eat
- 3.2 Features of behavior
- 3.3 Diseases
- 3.4 Reproduction
- 4 How much does a mute swan live
- 5 Interesting Facts
Description
The majority of the length of the body of a mute swan is the neck
It features an elongated body with a long neck. Get to know the bird can be orange-red beak, at the base there is a growth of black colors. She got her name thanks to a special sound, emitted by irritation. Can hiss, snort, wheeze and whistle. These sounds are usually directed at a predator or offender with purpose to scare him away. She belongs to the type of chordates, a class of birds and an order of anseriformes.
The average length of this creature is 180 cm. The mass of females 5–6 kg, and males 8–12 kg. The wings are very beautiful, with a swing resemble sails.
Habitat
Mute swan has a fairly wide range of habitats
This bird lives in the north of Europe and Asia. In a smaller amount of her can be found in Australia, North America. Previously, the swan was widespread in the Republic of Belarus, but at the end of the 19th century it exterminated.
In Russia, it nests almost everywhere, especially in Pskov, Leningrad regions and the Far East. Winter swan sent to the Caspian, Black Sea. As soon as it comes spring, these birds fly away from their wintering places home.
Lifestyle
Mute swan spends more time swimming in water
Mute swan is listed in the Red Books of individual regions Russia and some countries. The thing is that in the near they hunted this bird in the past, which negatively affected its populations. Since the mid-20th century, hunting for it is strictly prohibited, but birds die anyway, swimming in polluted waters with oil and fuel oil puddles.
The optimal factors for life are:
- the proximity of water bodies;
- dense vegetation where the swan hides at night from strangers;
- remoteness from their own kind: swans live in pairs, and large groups of birds and people carefully avoids.
What eat
Mute swan can also eat small fish
The main food are aquatic plants, small sea creatures. They love mollusks, water donkeys, crustaceans. Almost never eaten on land, exceptions are storms. or floods when small marine animals throws on Coast.
Fatal to the life of a bird is bread. Better to feed her slices of carrots, cabbage, a mixture of crops.
Behavior features
The noise annoys the swan and makes it aggressive
By nature, this bird is quite aggressive and irritable. Does not like other birds and humans. Often at the sight of strangers begins to flap its wings and hiss, driving away with its territory.
This is a proud, arrogant creature that is practically impossible to tame. Likes to be in quiet, inaccessible for human places.
Disease
This bird is susceptible to various diseases:
- Arthritis. Appears after a trauma. or infection. The swan has a very high temperature, joints swelling. Because of the pain, the swan cannot move quickly.
- Inflammation of the coccygeal gland. Recognize very simple: the swan becomes dirty, the plumage darkens. Bird constantly touches the place under the tail with its beak, can hiss and wheeze from pain.
- Salmonellosis Bacteria enter the body birds along with food, affecting the entire gastrointestinal tract. Swan refuses food, becomes lethargic, inactive.
- Leeches Often a source of trouble leeches, which the bird picks up while swimming in water. They parasitize in the beak or pharynx, causing discomfort. Swan becomes restless, anxious. He is trying to get rid of leeches, often cleans the beak.
To keep the bird healthy, it needs clean water in pond, proper feeding, avoiding marshy ponds, where leeches often live.
Breeding
Little chicks love to swim on their mother’s back
Such swans reach late adulthood – only to four years. Great breeding season – mid and the end of March. The male looks after the female beautifully: he swims around her, spreads her wings, does everything for her to notice him. is he twists his head and if the female noticed him, swans intertwined by necks, spend all the time together.
When mating has occurred, the female begins to build a nest. In it time, the male ensures that no one enters their territory. Swans prefer to go far from strangers, choosing places in dense thickets.
It is known that in young birds that first nest, it happens only 2 eggs. Experienced females give about 10 eggs, but on average the number of offspring does not exceed 5–6.
The female herself hatches eggs, only occasionally being distracted by the search food. After 35 days, the offspring hatch from the eggs. From the first days the cubs are completely independent: they can take food, swim, but parents carefully monitor them, protecting them from danger.
How much does a mute swan live
On average, such birds live about 28-30 years. However, in difficult living conditions and with the transfer of diseases life expectancy is reduced by several years.
Interesting Facts
Swans do not live alone, only in pairs
Few know that they cannot take off from land.
Families of such swans are very strong, birds are devoted to each other to a friend. If a female or male dies, the second finds a new pair or takes off to a great height and breaks. Change they will not become partners throughout life without need.
In the UK, these birds are especially respected. They have a special status and much appreciated. The entire stock of such birds is property of the Queen. She does everything to protect them and they not hurt.
In Denmark, such birds are also in special honor: they are national symbol, their image can be found on many sights and souvenirs.
Hatched chicks like to spend time with their mother in the early days of life. They settle on her back, enjoying a joint pastime. The female especially monitors their safety. If there is a threat from outside, the female is always ready to intercede for their babies. There are cases when such swans injured people.
It is worth knowing that such birds have a very good memory. Specialists they say that they remember the offender, they can harm him even after many years. They know how to take revenge, remember the negative cases from past.
Not only the female, but also the male can intercede for the cubs. Hit its wings are sometimes fatal to predators. Especially often this happens when a fox tries to steal eggs. Male fast flies to the offender and hits the nose, which causes the animal severe pain.
Mute swan – an incredibly beautiful, intelligent bird that can stand up for yourself and your family. She doesn’t like to be in big tries to live in pairs, devotes a lot of time to a group of their own kind family. Offenders may regret trying to inflict harm to this wayward, arrogant, proud bird.
