Today the hero of our article will be the largest and most majestic representative of the goose order - the mute swan. The snow-white handsome man amazes with his grace and article.
Habitats
The mute swan is one of the largest birds in Russia. Its weight reaches 14 kg. He loves stagnant ponds with large thickets of semi-aquatic vegetation - cattails, lake reeds, reeds, sedges. The facts of its nesting on the Cheboksary reservoir, Zavolzhsky lakes are recorded. Distributed from southern Scandinavia and Central Europe to the Ussuri valley, south to Asia Minor, Afghanistan, Iran. In winter, it migrates to the areas of the Caspian and Mediterranean seas. Individuals living in the south do not fly away for the winter. This species is registered in seventy countries.
Mute Swan description
A large bird belongs to the duck family. The mute swan (a detachment of goose) is protected in many countries. The average body length of a bird is one hundred and sixty centimeters (including the neck), the wingspan reaches two hundred and forty centimeters. The plumage is snow-white, on the neck and head there is a light buffy coating. Adults have a bright red beak, bridle, velvety bump under the beak. Legs are paintedthick black color.
Young mute swan has light gray plumage with a brownish tint. Its beak is grey-purple. The color of the plumage changes at about three years of age. These birds have thicker necks than other white swans. They keep it afloat in the form of the letter “S”, effectively raise their wings and hiss intimidatingly (hence the name). Unlike their northern counterparts, they cannot make loud trumpet sounds.
Habitat and food
The mute swan prefers to create a pair in which he lives permanently. Birds nest on overgrown lakes. Having occupied a small reservoir, the couple does not allow other birds to enter their territory. Nests are built in reed beds. They are a large structure of moss, reeds and grass. For the construction of birds, last year's reed is used, to which a large amount of other plant material is added. The bottom of the nest is covered with their fluff and soft reed panicles.
Mute swan devotes a lot of time to furnishing its home. What does this powerful bird eat? These are mainly fruits, green parts and roots of plants growing in a reservoir and on its banks. In addition, these are mollusks, small crustaceans, worms. Sometimes in the summer, birds go to the steppes to feast on grains.
Mating season
As already mentioned, the mute creates a couple for life. In the mating season, which begins in early spring, birds that have not yet found their partner lek. Wanting to conquer the heartthe chosen one, the male swims around her, raising his wings, turning his head from side to side. If the female responds to courtship, she assumes the same posture. During the nesting period, the pair occupies an area of about 100 hectares. Having built a nest, the swans mate. This usually happens in water.
Reproduction, offspring
Birds reach sexual maturity by three or four years. The female lays 4-6 white or light yellow eggs. The incubation period lasts 35-38 days. The female incubates the offspring. The male at this time guards his girlfriend, being always nearby. It should be noted that the mute swan has good paternal qualities. Interesting facts have been recorded by many researchers. When the female needs to briefly leave the nest in order to get food for herself, the male takes her place. He is not afraid of any predators. With one blow of his powerful wing, he is able to kill a fox, break a man's arm.
Emerging chicks weigh approximately 200 grams. They are covered with thick gray down, barely dry, ready to leave the nest. However, at first they accompany their mother everywhere, comfortably sitting on her back. From the first hours of life, the chicks feed on their own, only at night they return to the nest under the mother's wing to keep warm. Offspring are nurtured by both parents.
At four months (sometimes a little earlier), the chicks begin to take off. From that moment on, they unite in large youth flocks. Under natural conditions, the mute swan lives 25-28 years.
During the breeding season, the mute swan is veryaggressive. He fiercely defends his nest, mercilessly drives other birds and their broods from "his" pond.
Wintering
When leaving for the winter, these birds gather in thousands of flocks, most often consisting of family groups. This makes them more secure.
When it is not possible to get food due to rain or wind, swans lie down on the ground, hide their paws and beak in warm plumage, and in this position they wait for hours for the weather to improve.
Life in a pack
Muteers are very accommodating. They are peacefully related to their brothers and other birds. Fights happen extremely rarely, only in cases where you need to protect your territory. The opponents hit each other hard with their beaks and wings.
Mute Swan: The Red Book
Despite the fact that the current state of the species does not cause concern, the beautiful bird needs protection. It must be protected from poachers, to observe periods of silence on water bodies in May-June. At this time, the mute swan acquires offspring. The Red Book of Russia, Tatarstan, Belarus, Saratov region has this handsome man in their lists.
Captivity
These snow-white powerful birds have long been kept in captivity. With the right content, the mute swan does not suffer from this at all and does not strive for freedom. It easily adapts to new conditions, quickly creates a pair even with minimal selection, successfully breeds.
Before you buy swans for keeping, you must fulfill a number of prerequisites:
- organize a reservoir with clean water;
- provide winter care for birds.
The body of water can be of any size, but it is desirable that it be as large as possible. This makes bird care easier. If so, then part of the problem is solved. In winter, a compressor and pipes for pumping air and water can be installed in it. Thus, a constant current is created, the pond does not freeze even in severe frosts.
Some do otherwise - they transfer birds from a large pond to a winter room. Provided that it has a pool in which you can regularly change the water, and a small clearing for walking with dry bedding, the birds will feel comfortable.
However, the most humane way of winter maintenance is to transfer swans for overexposure to a nursery that has all the conditions for keeping birds in winter with a guarantee of their preservation.
Numbers
According to the latest data, there are 500 thousand individuals of this species in the world, of which 350 thousand live in Russia. Most of them live in the Volga delta. About 30 thousand mute birds live in the UK, in other countries there are much fewer such birds. Hunting for these birds was banned in 1960, after which their numbers increased significantly.
Interesting facts
Mute swans are pretty smart birds with a good memory. They easily remember the one who offended them, and even after a few months they can take revenge on him. They show aggression towards people only during the breeding season, protecting clutch or chicks. Mute haveexcellent vision and hearing. Birds communicate with each other in an interesting language, consisting of a large number of gestures and sounds. The body of an adult swan is covered with more than 23 thousand feathers. Individuals living in captivity often reach the age of thirty.
