Trumpeter and Tundra Swans

Trumpeter Swan
Length—64 in.
Weight—28 lbs.

Trumpeter swans are the largest birds native to North America. The non-native mute swan is nearly as large, but has a distinctive orange knob on the top of the bill which makes identification easy. Trumpeter swans have a large, stout, black bill. Large male trumpeters can have a wingspan of nearly ten feet. Trumpeters feed mostly on aquatic plants, although in winter they may forage on waste grain and grasses in farm fields.

Tundra Swan
Length—59 in.
Weight—16 lbs.

True to their name, tundra swans breed in the Arctic and subarctic tundra. This species is sometimes split into two subspecies, Bewick’s swan and whistling swan. Both are all white, with variable-sized yellow patches on the base of the bill. They eat mostly aquatic vegetation, although in some areas they may feed heavily on waste grain and other land plants.