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Etymology & Terminology

Fossil Swans

Systematics & Evolution

Behaviour

Distribution & Movements

Descriptions

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The word swan is derived from Old

English Swan, akin to the German Schwan and

Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, in turn derived

from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to

sing), whence Latin derives sonus (sound).

Young swans are known as cygnets,

from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the

Old French suffix -et ("little"), or as swanlings.

An adult male is a cob, from Middle English

cobbe (leader of a group) and an adult female is

a pen.

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The swans are the largest members of

the duck family Anatidae, and are amongst the

largest flying birds. The largest species, including

the mute swan, trumpeter swan, and whooper

swan, can reach length of over 1.5 m and weigh

over 15 kg. Their wingspans can be almost 3 m.

Compared to the closely related geese they are

much larger in size and have proportionallylarger feet and necks. They also have a patch of

unfeathered skin between the eyes and bill in

adults. The sexes are alike in plumage, but males

are generally bigger and heavier than females.

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The Northern Hemisphere species of

swan have pure white plumage but the Southern

Hemisphere species are mixed black and white.

The Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is

completely black except for the white flight

feathers on its wings; the chicks of black swans

are light grey in colour, and the South American

Black-necked Swan has a black neck.The legs of swans are normally a dark

blackish grey colour, except for the two South

American species, which have pink legs. Bill

colour varies: the four subarctic species have

black bills with varying amounts of yellow, and

all the others are patterned red and black.

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Although most birds generally do not

have teeth, swans are known to be an exception to

this, having small jagged 'teeth' as part of their

beaks used for catching and eating fish. The MuteSwan and Black-necked Swan have a lump at the

base of the bill on the upper mandible.

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Whooper Swans migrate from Iceland,

Scandinavia and Northern Russia to Europe,

Central Asia, China and Japan.

The swans are generally found intemperate environments, rarely occurring in the

tropics. Four (or five) species occur in the

Northern Hemisphere, one species is found in

Australia and New Zealand and one species is

distributed in southern South America They are

absent from tropical Asia, Central America,

northern South America and the entirety of

Africa. One species, the Mute Swan, has been

introduced to North America, Australia and New

Zealand.

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Several species are migratorY, either

wholly or partly so. The Mute Swan is a partial

migrant, being resident over areas of Western

Europe but wholly migratory in Eastern Europe

and Asia. The Whooper Swan and Tundra

Swan are wholly migratory, and the Trumpeter

Swans are almost entirely migratory. There is

some evidence that the Black-necked Swan is

migratory over part of its range, but detailed

studies have not established whether these

movements are long or short range migration.Swans feed in the water and on land. They are

almost entirely herbivorous, although small

numbers of aquatic animals may be eaten.BACK

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In the water food is obtained by up-

ending or dabbling, and their diet is composed of

the roots, tubers, stems and leaves of aquatic andsubmerged plants.

Swans form monogamous pair bonds

that last for many years, and in some cases these

can last for life. Modern genetic techniques are

starting to reveal that 'divorces' are more common

than previously thought, as is mating with other

swans outside of the social pairing, without

breaking the social pair bond. These bonds are

maintained year round, even in gregarious and

migratory species like the Tundra Swan, which

congregate in large flocks in the wintering

grounds. BACK

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The nest is on the ground near water and about

a metre across. Unlike many other ducks andgeese the male helps with the nest construction.

Average egg size (for the mute swan) is

11374mm, weighing 340 g, in a clutch size of

4 to 7, and an incubation period of 3445 days.

With the exception of the dendrocygninaes they

are the only anatids where the males aid in

incubating the eggs.

Mute swans have been observed to

display homosexual or transgender behavior.

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All evidence suggests that the genus

Cygnus evolved in Europe or western Eurasia during

the Miocene, spreading all over the Northern

Hemisphere until the Pliocene. When the southernspecies branched off is not known. The Mute Swan

apparently is closest to the Southern Hemisphere

Cygnus its habits of carrying the neck curved and

the wings fluffed as well as its bill color and knob

indicate that its closest living relative is actually the

Black Swan. Given the biogeography and appearance

of the subgenus Olor it seems likely that these are of

a more recent origin, as evidence shows by their

modern ranges (which were mostly uninhabitable

during the last ice age) and great similarity between

the taxa.BACK

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Subgenus Cygnus

Mute Swan, Cygnus olor, is a Eurasian

species that occurs at lower latitudes than

Whooper Swan and Bewick's Swan acrossEurope into southern Russia, China and the

Russian Maritimes.

Subgenus Chenopis

Black Swan, Cygnus atratus of Australia,

and introduced in New Zealand.

New Zealand Swan, Cygnus atratus

sumnerensis, an extinct subspecies of the

Black Swan from New Zealand and the

Chatham Islands.

Subgenus Sthenelides

Black-necked SwaN, Cygnus

melancoryphus of South America. BACK

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Subgenus Olor

Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus breeds

in Iceland and subarctic Europe and Asia,

migrating to temperate Europe and Asia inwinter.

Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator is

the largest North American swan. Very

similar to the Whooper Swan (and

sometimes treated as a subspecies of it), it

was hunted almost to extinction but has

since recovered.

Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus is a

small swan which breeds on the North

American tundra, further north than

Trumpeter Swan. It winters in the USA.

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The fossil record of the genus Cygnus

is quite impressive, although allocation to the

subgenera is often tentative; as indicatedabove, at least the early forms probably

belong to the C. olor - Southern Hemisphere

lineage, where as the Pleistocene taxa from

North America would be placed in Olor. A

number of prehistoric species have been

described, mostly from the Northern

Hemisphere. Among them was the giant

Siculo-Maltese C. falconeri which was taller

(though not heavier) than the contemporary

local dwarf elephants (Elephas falconeri).BACK

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Fossil swansCygnus csakvarensis (Late Miocene of Hungary)

- formerly Cygnanser

Cygnus mariae (Early Pliocene of Wickieup,

USA)

Cygnus verae (Early Pliocene of Sofia, Bulgaria)

Cygnus liskunae (Middle Pliocene of W

Mongolia)

Cygnus hibbardi (?Early Pleistocene of Idaho,

USA)

Cygnus sp. (Early Pleistocene of Dursunlu,

Turkey: Louchart et al. 1998)

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Giant Swan, Cygnus falconeri (Middle

Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)

Cygnus paloregonus (Middle Pleistocene of WC

USA) - includes "Anser" condoni and C.

matthewi

Dwarf Swan Cygnus equitum (Middle - Late

Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean)

Cygnus lacustris (Late Pleistocene of Lake Eyreregion, Australia) - formerly Archaeocygnus

Cygnus sp. (Pleistocene of Australia)

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The supposed fossil swans "Cygnus"

bilinicus and "Cygnus" herrenthalsi were,

respectively, a stork and some large bird ofunknown affinity (due to the bad state of

preservation of the referred material). Anser

atavus is sometimes placed in Cygnus.The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba

coscoroba) from South America, the only species

of its genus, is apparently not a true swan. Its

phylogenetic position is not fully resolved; it is in

some aspects more similar to geese and

shelducks.BACK

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Systematics & Evolution

Behaviour

Distribution & Movements

Descriptions

Fossil Swans

Etymology & Terminology

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This presentation Created BY :Augridita Prawidya. CXI.IA 2SMAN 4 KENDARI