Swans are the largest species of waterfowl in the subfamily Anserinae, family Anatidae. Most are in the genus Cygnus . They are known for their long necks, heavy bodies, and large feet. Graceful swimmers, they fly with slow wingbeats and necks outstretched, often migrating in diagonal or V-formation at great heights. Swans feed in shallow waters, dabbling for aquatic plants. They are social birds, except during breeding season, and usually mate for life. A male swan is called a cob, and a female is called a pen. They make various sounds, though the mute swan is the least vocal. Cygnets, the young swans, are carefully tended by their parents for several months.

What do swans look like?

Swans are the largest species of waterfowl. They have long necks, heavy bodies, and big feet, and they swim and fly with grace. When in flight, they move in diagonal or V-formations at great heights. Male swans (cobs) and female swans (pens) look alike. Most swans are white with black legs, but the Australian black swan is an exception. Swans are social creatures, except during breeding season, and they mate for life. They build nests of vegetation, and the pen incubates about six pale eggs while the cob keeps watch. Young swans, called cygnets, are short-necked and downy. Though cygnets can run and swim shortly after hatching, they are carefully tended to for several months.

Swans, the largest waterfowl in the subfamily Anserinae, are found across the globe. Most are in the genus Cygnus . Five species, including the mute swan , inhabit the Northern Hemisphere, while others like the black swan reside in the Southern Hemisphere, specifically Australia. Pink-legged swans can be found in South America. Swans are migratory birds. Those in Europe winter in the western part of the continent, the Mediterranean, and tropical Africa. They often spend the season in African lake and river regions from Senegal to Sudan.

Swans, the largest members of the waterfowl subfamily Anserinae, primarily feed by dabbling in shallow water for aquatic plants. They do not dive for food. These heavy-bodied, big-footed birds can also be observed tucking one foot over their backs while swimming or standing. Though they are generally sociable, swans can be territorial during breeding season.

How do swans care for their young?

Swans usually mate for life, and both parents participate in raising their young, called cygnets. Courtship includes head-to-head posturing or mutual bill dipping. The pen (female swan) typically incubates around six eggs on a vegetation heap, while the cob (male) guards. After hatching, cygnets can run and swim within hours but are carefully tended for several months. The parents guide and guard them, initially brooding them at night and during harsh weather. Some cygnets may even ride on their mother’s back. Young swans stay with their parents through their first winter, migrating together to and from wintering grounds.

What are some special behaviors or adaptations swans have?

Swans, the largest waterfowl, exhibit unique behaviors and adaptations. They migrate in diagonal or V-formations at great heights, moving faster than other waterfowl in both water and air. Swans are known to feed by dabbling in shallow waters for aquatic plants rather than diving. When swimming or standing, they often tuck one foot over their back. Male swans (cobs) and female swans (pens) engage in courtship rituals involving mutual bill dipping or head-to-head posturing, and they typically mate for life. Swans are highly sociable birds, except during breeding season. After fending off an enemy, they emit a triumph note, similar to geese.

Swan

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Images & Videos

Mute swan (Cygnus olor) with white plumage glides on dark water, its neck gracefully curved downward.

Adult mute swan with cygnets (Cygnus olor).

Two black-necked swans, Cygnus melanocoryphus, with white bodies and black necks, swim in brownish water.

Observe a trumpeter swan care for cygnets in their nest and marsh-grass habitat

Quick Facts

Related Topics:: wildfowl; cygnet; pen; cob; Cygnus

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Swan

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is a swan?
Swans are the largest species of waterfowl in the subfamily Anserinae, family Anatidae. Most are in the genus Cygnus. They are known for their long necks, heavy bodies, and large feet. Graceful swimmers, they fly with slow wingbeats and necks outstretched, often migrating in diagonal or V-formation at great heights.

Swans feed in shallow waters, dabbling for aquatic plants. They are social birds, except during breeding season, and usually mate for life. A male swan is called a cob, and a female is called a pen. They make various sounds, though the mute swan is the least vocal. Cygnets, the young swans, are carefully tended by their parents for several months.
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What do swans look like?
Swans are the largest species of waterfowl. They have long necks, heavy bodies, and big feet, and they swim and fly with grace. When in flight, they move in diagonal or V-formations at great heights.

Male swans (cobs) and female swans (pens) look alike. Most swans are white with black legs, but the Australian black swan is an exception.

Swans are social creatures, except during breeding season, and they mate for life. They build nests of vegetation, and the pen incubates about six pale eggs while the cob keeps watch. Young swans, called cygnets, are short-necked and downy. Though cygnets can run and swim shortly after hatching, they are carefully tended to for several months.
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2. anseriform: Anatomy
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Where do swans live?
Swans, the largest waterfowl in the subfamily Anserinae, are found across the globe. Most are in the genus Cygnus. Five species, including the mute swan, inhabit the Northern Hemisphere, while others like the black swan reside in the Southern Hemisphere, specifically Australia. Pink-legged swans can be found in South America.

Swans are migratory birds. Those in Europe winter in the western part of the continent, the Mediterranean, and tropical Africa. They often spend the season in African lake and river regions from Senegal to Sudan.
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1. swan
2. migration: In Europe
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What do swans eat?
Swans, the largest members of the waterfowl subfamily Anserinae, primarily feed by dabbling in shallow water for aquatic plants. They do not dive for food. These heavy-bodied, big-footed birds can also be observed tucking one foot over their backs while swimming or standing. Though they are generally sociable, swans can be territorial during breeding season.
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How do swans care for their young?
Swans usually mate for life, and both parents participate in raising their young, called cygnets. Courtship includes head-to-head posturing or mutual bill dipping. The pen (female swan) typically incubates around six eggs on a vegetation heap, while the cob (male) guards.

After hatching, cygnets can run and swim within hours but are carefully tended for several months. The parents guide and guard them, initially brooding them at night and during harsh weather. Some cygnets may even ride on their mother’s back. Young swans stay with their parents through their first winter, migrating together to and from wintering grounds.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some special behaviors or adaptations swans have?
Swans, the largest waterfowl, exhibit unique behaviors and adaptations. They migrate in diagonal or V-formations at great heights, moving faster than other waterfowl in both water and air.

Swans are known to feed by dabbling in shallow waters for aquatic plants rather than diving. When swimming or standing, they often tuck one foot over their back. Male swans (cobs) and female swans (pens) engage in courtship rituals involving mutual bill dipping or head-to-head posturing, and they typically mate for life.

Swans are highly sociable birds, except during breeding season. After fending off an enemy, they emit a triumph note, similar to geese.
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Audio clip of tundra swans.

Swan, largest waterfowl species of the subfamily Anserinae, family Anatidae (order Anseriformes). Most swans are classified in the genus Cygnus. Swans are gracefully long-necked, heavy-bodied, big-footed birds that glide majestically when swimming and fly with slow wingbeats and with necks outstretched. They migrate in diagonal formation or V-formation at great heights, and no other waterfowl moves as fast on the water or in the air.

Swans feed by dabbling (not diving) in shallows for aquatic plants. Swimming or standing, the mute (C. olor) and black (C. atratus) swans often tuck one foot over the back. Male swans, called cobs, and females, called pens, look alike. Legend to the contrary, swans utter a variety of sounds from the windpipe, which in some species is looped within the breastbone (as in cranes); even the mute swan, the least vocal species, often hisses, makes soft snoring sounds, or grunts sharply.

Swans are sociable except in breeding season. They mate for life. Courtship involves mutual bill dipping or head-to-head posturing. The pen incubates, on average, a half-dozen pale unmarked eggs on a heap of vegetation while the cob keeps close guard; in some species he takes his turn at brooding. After repulsing an enemy, swans utter a triumph note, as geese do. The young, called cygnets, emerge short-necked and thickly downed; though capable of running and swimming a few hours after hatching, they are carefully tended for several months; in some species they may ride about on their mother’s back. Immature birds wear mottled gray or brown plumage for two or more years. Swans mature in the third or fourth year and live perhaps 20 years in the wild and 50 years or more in captivity.

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Of the seven or eight species—some of them probably races of a species, as indicated below by scientific names in parentheses—five are all-white, black-legged birds of the Northern Hemisphere: the mute swan, with a black knob at the base of its orange bill, curved posture of the neck, and aggressive wing arching; the trumpeter swan (C. cygnus buccinator), named for its far-carrying low-pitched call and having an all-black bill; the whooper swan (C. cygnus cygnus), a noisy bird with black bill having a conspicuous yellow base; the similar but smaller and quieter Bewick’s swan (C. columbianus bewickii), of which Jankowski’s swan (C. columbianus jankowskii) may be merely the eastern race; and the whistling swan (C. columbianus columbianus), named for its voice and having a black bill with, usually, a small yellow spot near the eye. Some ornithologists (especially in the United States) place the last four swans in the genus Olor, reserving Cygnus for the mute swan.

Once threatened with extinction—fewer than 100 birds were counted in the United States in 1935—the trumpeter swan has made a strong comeback in the national parks of the western United States and Canada, but the total population in the mid-1970s was only about 2,000. It is the largest swan—about 1.7 metres (5.5 feet) long, with a 3-metre (10-foot) wingspan—but it weighs less than the mute swan, which at 23 kg (50 pounds) is the heaviest flying bird.

The Southern Hemisphere has the black swan (Australia) and two pink-legged forms (South America): the black-necked swan (C. melancoryphus), an especially bad-tempered but beautiful bird, with white body, black neck and head, and prominent red caruncle (fleshy outgrowth) on the bill; and the coscoroba (Coscoroba coscoroba), an all-white bird that is usually considered the smallest swan but may have affinities with the whistling duck.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

Swan

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