Sunday, January 15, 2012

Trumpeter swans in the Arb

Great news everyone! The trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) have arrived in the Arboretum. Trumpeter swans are North America's largest bird and the world's largest waterfowl. I saw two adults and two juveniles feeding down in the Huron River just a few minutes ago.

The native trumpeter swan can be distinguished from the invasive mute swan but the color of its bill: trumpeter swans have a black bill; mute swans have an orange bill.

3 comments:

  1. Shhh...your spelling is showing. :) rumpeter and sawn aren't really words.

    That's great news! I love swans, any kind, but I had no idea that one was larger than the other. In the spring I always look for Herons.

    -Cass

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amazing - I think we need and ArbCam. I bet the spelling is from cold fingers on an iphone (?)

    ReplyDelete