Bewick's Swan

Bewick's Swan is the Eurasian form of the Tundra Swan, generally treated as a subspecies, and is the smallest swan regularly seen in Europe. It is entirely white with a shorter neck and more rounded head than the larger Whooper Swan, and its bill shows a variable pattern of yellow and black, with the yellow patch typically more rounded and less extensive than in the Whooper Swan.

Each individual's bill pattern is unique, like a fingerprint, allowing researchers to identify and track specific birds and family groups across years, a technique famously pioneered at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Slimbridge, England, where the species was named after the engraver Thomas Bewick.

Key field marks

• Smaller and more compact than the Whooper Swan, with a shorter neck
• Rounded (not pointed) yellow patch at the base of the black bill, variable in extent
• Rounded head profile
• All-white adult plumage

Similar species

• Whooper Swan: larger, longer-necked, with a more extensive, pointed wedge of yellow on the bill
• Mute Swan: orange bill with a black knob rather than yellow-and-black patterning

Bill pattern shape (rounded versus pointed) and overall size are the primary ways to separate Bewick's Swan from the similar Whooper Swan.

Range and habitat

Bewick's Swan breeds on Arctic tundra across northern Russia, nesting near shallow pools and wetlands during the brief Arctic summer.

Migration

The species undertakes long migrations to winter in temperate wetlands of western Europe (notably Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany) and separately in East Asia, favoring flooded grasslands, shallow lakes, and farmland where flocks feed communally.

Behavior

Bewick's Swans are highly social in winter, gathering in flocks that include extended family groups, with cygnets often remaining with their parents through their first winter migration.

Voice

Calls are musical, honking, and somewhat higher-pitched than the Whooper Swan, often given in a chorus by feeding or roosting flocks.

Feeding

They feed by grazing on grasslands and by dabbling or upending in shallow water for aquatic plants, and readily use farmland to feed on waste potatoes and grain during migration and winter.

Nesting and breeding

Nests are shallow mounds of vegetation built on the tundra near water; pairs are monogamous long-term partners, and researchers have used individually distinctive bill patterns to study pair bonds and family loyalty over many years.