Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taken at Welney, Cambs, on January 2nd 2005. (Click image for larger version. Click image for larger version. © David Hastings) DescriptionL: 140 - 160cm; WS: 205 - 235cm The Whooper swan is a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's but smaller than a Mute. It has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs. Its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it. Its breeding range is Iceland, northern Europe and Russia. It is mainly a winter visitor to the British Isles. It breeds on tundra pools and small lakes with sheltering vegetaion, on damp bogs and in marshes. Has a loud, bugling call, similar to that of the Bewick's Swan. Its UK conservation status is amber, owing to its winter population and small breeding numbers. Sightings
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