Tundra Swan
Cygnus columbianus
Tundra Swans can fly at altitudes of up to 27,000 feet and reach flight speeds of over 50 miles per hour during migration.
- Scientific name
- Cygnus columbianus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Anseriformes › Anatidae › Cygnus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- tundra
- Habitat
- Arctic tundra wetlands during breeding season; lakes, slow-moving rivers, coastal bays, and agricultural fields during winter.
- Diet
- Omnivorous, feeding primarily on aquatic plants, tubers, seeds, and agricultural waste grains, supplemented by small invertebrates.
- Range
- North America, Arctic Tundra of Alaska and Canada, United States coastal wintering grounds, East Asia
- Size
- Wingspan of 1.5 to 1.7 meters (5 to 5.5 feet); weight of 3.8 to 10.5 kg.
- Lifespan
- 10 to 20 years in the wild
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss in wintering wetlands, lead poisoning from ingested ammunition/sinkers, and climate change shifting arctic breeding zones.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless from a distance, but defensive during spring nesting. Maintain a safe distance of at least 50 meters. If approached, they may hiss, flap their powerful wings, or charge. If they show distress, back away slowly. Bites or wing-claps can cause minor bruising; wash any minor scratches with soap and water.
The tundra swan ( Cygnus columbianus ) is a small Holarctic swan. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan ( Cygnus bewickii ) of the Palaearctic and the whistling swan ( C. columbianus ) proper of the Nearctic. Birds from eastern Russia (roughly east of the Taimyr Peninsula) are sometimes separated as the subspecies C. c. jankowskii , but this is not widely accepted as distinct, most authors including them...
Photo: Andy Wilson, CC0, via iNaturalist
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