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Young swans are known as cygnets, from Old French cigne or cisne (diminutive suffix et ' little '), from the Latin word cygnus, a variant form of cycnus ' swan ', itself from the Greek κύκνος kýknos, a word of the same meaning. [10] [11] [12] An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen ...
The ducks, geese, and swans are small- to large-sized birds with a broad and elongated general body plan. [2] Diving species vary from this in being rounder. Extant species range in size from the cotton pygmy goose , at as little as 26.5 cm (10.5 in) and 164 g (5.8 oz), to the trumpeter swan , at as much as 183 cm (6 ft) and 17.2 kg (38 lb).
Mute swans can achieve speeds in flight of up to 88.5 km/h (55 mph), and during take off achieve speeds of around 48 km/h (30 mph) when running to gain lift. [21] Young birds, called cygnets, are not the bright white of mature adults, and their bill is dull greyish-black, not orange, for the first year.
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Trumpeter swan courtship in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Like other swans, trumpeter swans often mate for life, and both parents participate in raising their young, but primarily the female incubates the eggs. Most pair bonds are formed when swans are 5 to 7 years old, although some pairs do not form until they are nearly 20 years old.
Tundra swans are sometimes separated in the subgenus Olor together with the other Arctic swan species. Bewick's swan was named in 1830 by William Yarrell after the engraver Thomas Bewick, who specialised in illustrations of birds and animals. [5] Cygnus is the Latin for "swan", and columbianus comes from the Columbia River, the type locality. [6]
The swans, ducks and geese are medium to large birds that are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet and bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent. In many ducks the male is colourful while the female is dull brown. The diet consists of a variety of animals and plants.
The swan goose is large and long-necked for its genus, wild birds being 81–94 cm (32–37 in) long (the longest Anser goose) and weighing 2.8–3.5 kg (6.2–7.7 lb) or more (the second-heaviest Anser, after the greylag goose A. anser). The sexes are similar, although the male is larger, with a proportionally longer bill and neck; in fact the ...