Description: This is a large bird with a white body and neck. The bill is orange with a black knob on top. The black extends form the base of the bill to a thick point touching the front of the eye. It will often swim with an S-shaped curve in its neck and its wings arched over its back.

Range: Europe and Asia. Introduced in eastern North America and kept in parks in western North America.

Habitat: Found on freshwater lakes and ponds. Also found in inlets and estuaries.

General: Mute swans build large nests composed of grasses, reeds and cattails in shallow water. They feed on aquatic plants and seeds.

Bovey, Robin, Campbell, Wayne, and Gates, Brian. 1989. Birds of Victoria and Vicinity. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, Alberta.

Peterson, Roger Tory. 1990. Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, New York.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1994. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Chanticlear Press, Inc. New York, New York.

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