Species Guide: Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Family: Anatidae
APPEARANCE
Adult Mute Swans have bright white plumage with black feet, and orange bills; featuring a large black protrusion on their foreheads called a basal knob. When on the water they are graceful, often swimming with their wings curved into an arch. Juvenile birds are grayish brown with black bills. If you see them in flight, listen out for the drone of their wingbeats with the occasional grunt call.1
Diet
When feeding in water, they use their long necks to reach under the surface. They will also feed on land. They are primarily herbivores with a diet consisting of aquatic plants, though they will occasionally eat aquatic insects, small fish, and frogs.
HABITAT
For many of us, Mute Swans are a familiar sight in parks, large ponds, and lochs and lakes. Though cautious, they are relatively comfortable around humans. They favor lowland freshwater habitats, but will also inhabit brackish water.
Note that this map is for a rough illustration of animal distribution across the UK based on EBBA distribution information2 whereby light green indicates established populations.
Behavior
Their name might suggest that the Mute Swan doesn’t make any sound, in fact, this isn’t the case. They certainly don’t honk like many of the other species of swan, but they do make grunting and hissing noises, as well as loud snorts.
Mute Swan call:
Jose Ignacio Molina xeno-canto.org
Mute Swans construct nests consisting of large mounds of vegetation. They are monogamous and pairs will frequently use the same nest sites year after year. Both the male and female construct the nest site, and females will have a single brood of eggs each year with a clutch size of up to 7 eggs; normally between March and April. Eggs are incubated between a month and a month and a half. After the cygnets are born, they can take up to 6 months to be fully fledged.
Biometrics
NATURAL PREDATORS
Adults don’t have any natural predators, though their nests and cygnets can be subject to predation by mammals such as foxes and American mink.
Conservation Status
Mute Swan populations were in significant decline into the late 20th century which was caused in large part by the use of lead weights for fishing. These have now been banned in the British Isles, and subsequently, populations have recovered and even expanded their range; notably into Shetland.
U.K.
Conservation Status
Global
Conservation Status
CITATIONS
- Madge, Steve. Wildfowl : An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese and Swans of the World, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 1992. ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 12/03/2025] ↩︎
- European Breeding Bird Atlas [Accessed 12/03/2025] ↩︎
- Featherbase: Mute Swan Cygus olor [Accessed 12/03/2025] ↩︎
- Featherbase: Mute Swan Cygus olor [Accessed 12/03/2025] ↩︎
- BTO Mute Swan Bird Facts [Accessed 12/03/2025] ↩︎
