Ashley and Crippen Photographers, Toronto|Corporate Headshots/Executive Headshots 

Birds

Mute Swan

THE Mute Swan is an Old World species that was introduced into North America and is found mainly on the east coast and around the Great Lakes- it likes to be near people. Populations are increasing, displacing native birds, so in some areas they are being removed. It is often silent, although it sometimes hisses or grunts, but when flying its wing beats produce a loud rhythmic hum. Like other swans it breeds near water, building a large mass of plant material in which it lays 4-6 eggs. Incubation is done by the female bird, and takes around 34-38 days. The young birds leave the nest very soon after hatching, but stay with the parent birds for a further 4 months. The Mute Swan has white plumage, a long pointed tail and a very long slender neck, which it tends to hold in an S-curve. Its bill is orange with a prominent black knob at the base and it quite often swims with its wings held up over its backing an arch. The immature bird has a pinkish-gray bill and its plumage is a dull brownish-white, which it retains until mid-winter. The Mute eats aquatic plants, which it dislodges with its powerful bill- a blow from it can break a mans arm.