Small swan bird. Lifestyle and habitat of the small swan

  • WHITE PEARL OF THE TUNDRA.
  • Snow-white clothes, royal appearance, proud posture, elegance and grace - this is what can be said about the amazing birds called swans.
  • And the famous swan neck, which was included in the works of poets and singers! By the way, this part of the swan’s body serves as the main instrument of nutrition: eating rhizomes and aquatic plants, the swan takes food from the very bottom, from the bottom silt, not diving, but tilting up with its tail and plunging its movable long neck into the water.
  • There are about 150 species of them on the planet.
  • Where there is water, there are swans. Our conversation will be about a representative of a glorious tribe of handsome men, a real northerner, a small one or, as it is also called, a tundra swan.
  • The tundra swan was nicknamed small because it is significantly smaller in size than its older brothers (mute, whooper): all of them barely reach 6 kg, while the whooper can reach a weight of up to 13 kg, and the mute can reach up to 22.5 kg. .
  • And the northerner’s voice is higher, sharper and more sonorous than that of his taiga relative.

  • The distribution area of ​​the small swan extends from Kola Peninsula to the Chukotka ridge. And the small swan lives in the swampy tundra with numerous lakes, shallow rivers and river channels.
  • The highest density of winged polar explorers is confined to the southern island of Novaya Zemlya, Vaygach, Yamal and the Lena delta.
  • Here, on numerous swan lakes, the white pearls of the Subarctic molt and feed, raise their chicks and hide from people.
  • In early May, at the end of the polar winter, the small swan is one of the first to return to its northern homeland. Experienced couples here occupy last year's nests - solid structures up to a meter in diameter and half a meter in height. Made of grass and moss, these “bumps” are quickly released from under the snow, so swans can immediately begin laying eggs before other feathered inhabitants of the tundra. But young swan husbands have to fight for prestigious plots for young wives.

  • The character of the little swan (like that of all its relatives) is nasty, uncooperative and aggressive: it does not tolerate the close presence of its own kind, or even harmless and peace-loving waders of ducks.
  • They begin breeding immediately - deadlines are running out, and the north does not like swings and delays.
  • By the way, swans enter into a marriage once and for all. They are so devoted to each other that the death of one bird almost always leads to lifelong loneliness of the other. You can read about the same faithful ones, but not swans, but cranes.
  • And swans live a long time - up to thirty years, so there are generally enough widowers among the long-suffering swan breed.
  • The little swan builds its house in the middle of the tundra, which is as flat as a football field, so a bird sitting on a nest can see its enemy a kilometer away.
  • When danger approaches, she smoothly slides in the direction opposite to the alien and, craning her neck, peeks out from behind the cover.

  • It takes off only as a last resort - when a random visitor crosses a critical line. And the elegant appearance and manners of an aristocrat do not at all prevent the head of the family from adequately defending himself and protecting his beloved swan.
  • With a powerful side blow of his wing, the male knocks down not only the sneaky Arctic fox, but also the average dog.
  • After sitting on a clutch of two to four eggs for about a month, married couple becomes the owner of a lovely brood" ugly ducklings", with whom he goes to the nearest lake or river bay, where he will spend another month and a half until the youngsters master aerobatic techniques.
  • While fathers and mothers raise their offspring, young bachelors wander around the summer tundra, flying from lake to lake.
  • They have nothing to do, that’s why they molt earlier and go south earlier than others.

  • Happy family


    Happy family
  • At the end of August, the rest join in - parents and grown-up children leave for warm regions. All small swans of Russia are divided into two large groups- western and eastern. Birds of the western subspecies winter in Europe, sometimes in the Caspian Sea and in Central Asia.
  • Birds of the eastern subspecies are more attracted to the water bodies of Japan, India and China.
  • Having reached winter resorts, the birds fall into embrace" sweet life“They eat, and sleep, sleep and eat again.
  • But a new spring is coming and the newly awakened tundra is waiting for its owners - the swans. Rested, gained fresh strength, strengthened and matured, they fly to their homeland, where hot days await that make life worth living.
  • The duration of stay of tundra swans in the winter does not exceed two and a half months, and four months for breeding.
  • It follows that tireless air travelers spend six months on the road!
  • A short run along the surface of the water, a push with the legs, a farewell flap of the wing and the magical white birds stretched away to the north...

General characteristics

The tundra swan is very similar to the whooper swan, but somewhat shorter: body length 115-127 cm and wingspan 170-195 cm, the tundra swan weighs about 5-6 kg. The voice of a small swan is also similar to the voice of a whooper, only quieter and lower. In addition, the tundra swan's beak is more black, while the whooper's beak, on the contrary, has black only at the tip of the beak.

Spreading

The tundra swan lives only on the territory of Russia in the tundras of the European and Asian parts of our country. It is also found on the islands of Kolguev, Vaygach and south island archipelago Novaya Zemlya. Previously it nested on the Kola Peninsula, but now it has disappeared from there, as well as from other areas of the southern tundra, for example, it is not found in places on Yamal and Taimyr. Today, western and eastern populations are distinguished; some ornithologists consider these populations to be different subspecies. The western population breeds in the tundra from the Kola Peninsula to the coast of Taimyr. In the south it extends to the forest-tundra of the Yenisei valley. It also nests on the Kanin Peninsula, on the Yugorsky Peninsula, along the Kara coast, on Yamal and Gydan. The eastern population inhabits the coastal tundra from the Lena delta to the Chaun lowland. The western population migrates to the UK, France and the Netherlands for the winter, as well as to the Caspian Sea basin. The eastern population flies to China, Japan and Korea. In total, the small swan spends 120-130 days in the tundra.

Lifestyle

The tundra swan prefers open spaces of water and prefers not to nest in wooded areas.

Nutrition

Like other swans, the small swans feed on plant foods, both aquatic plants and terrestrial ones, in particular grass, berries, potato tubers and beets. The eastern population, in addition to plant foods, also feeds on aquatic invertebrates. The tundra swan also often eats small fish.

The beak color of the small swan is more black than yellow

Reproduction

Like all swans, the lesser swan is a monogamous bird, forming pairs at 2-4 years and for life. Pairs arrive at the nesting site in the spring, when the snow begins to melt and polynyas appear. It nests on swampy tundras among numerous lakes, as well as in the lower reaches of rivers. Often pairs nest at a distance of several kilometers from each other, but denser nesting also occurs when the distance between pairs is about 500-700 m. Mating games pass on land. the male walks in front of the female, stretching his neck, sometimes raising his wings. At the same time, he makes a peculiar clapping sound and screams loudly. Then the couple flies to a new place and the ritual is repeated again. The female alone builds a nest on a small dry hill. Some nests are used for many years by different generations of birds. The tray, like other swans, is lined with feathers from its own chest. Clutch consists of 1-5 eggs white, during incubation, covered with yellow-brown spots. The eggs are incubated by both the female and the male, this mainly occurs in the eastern population. After 29-30 days, chicks appear, covered with pale gray down. Immediately after this, the swans leave the nest, taking the chicks to the water. After 40-45 days, young swans take wing: this is much faster than any other species of swans. Molting takes place in the nesting area.

Literature

  • Birds // Animal World in 7 volumes. - M.: Education, 1986. - T. 6.
  • Beycek V. Stastny K. Birds // Illustrated Encyclopedia. - M.: Labyrinth-press, 2004.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Tundra swan” is in other dictionaries:

    Not to be confused with Lybid. Contents 1 Birds 2 Last name 3 Astronomical and geographical names ... Wikipedia

    American swan ... Wikipedia

    Small swan ... Wikipedia

    State nature reserve federal subordination "Murmansk Tundra" ... Wikipedia

    The subfamily of geese includes large and average size birds with relatively short legs and in most cases a long neck. The tarsus is covered with polygonal shields, of which hexagonal ones are clearly visible in the middle part of the leg... ... Biological encyclopedia

    Birds Cygnus (Swans) genus of birds of the duck family (swans, black swans, mute swan): Black swan (Cygnus atratus) Black-necked swan (Cygnus melanocoryphus) Mute swan (Cygnus olor) Trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) American swan... ... Wikipedia

    - (Aves) a class of vertebrates, uniting animals that differ from all other animals by the presence of feathers. Birds are distributed throughout the world, are very diverse, numerous and easily accessible to observation. These… … Collier's Encyclopedia

    Elected annually by the Russian Bird Conservation Union, which represents International Association for the protection of birds (BirdLife International). The selected species becomes a symbol of environmental work, and special research is carried out on it... Wikipedia

    The list contains all the animals listed in the first Red Book of the Vologda Region in 2006. The columns of the table KV, KR and IUCN mean, respectively, the status of the specified species in the Red Book of the Vologda Region, the Red Book of Russia and the Red ... Wikipedia

Hello everyone, help me with this task:

What species criteria are used to describe animal species?

1) The mute swan often bends its neck in the shape of the letter S, and holds its beak and head inclined towards the water. When irritated, it makes a characteristic hissing sound, which is how it got its name. The mute swan is distributed in isolated areas in central and southern Europe and Asia from southern Sweden, Denmark and Poland in the west to Mongolia, Primorsky Krai and China in the east. It is rare throughout this territory, and completely absent in many areas. Pairs often nest at great distances from each other. Inhabits estuaries, lakes, and sometimes even swamps overgrown with aquatic vegetation, preferring remote areas that are rarely visited by humans.

The small, or tundra, swan is distributed across the tundra of Asia from the Kola Peninsula in the west to the Kolyma delta in the east, covering the forest-tundra region and the western islands of the Arctic Ocean. For nesting, it chooses marshy and low grassy areas with lakes scattered throughout them, as well as river valleys replete with oxbow lakes and channels.

Mating games are unique and take place on land. At the same time, the male walks in front of the female, stretches his neck, sometimes raises his wings, making a special flapping sound with them, and screams loudly.

2) City swallow. The top of the head, back, wings and tail are blue-black, the rump and the entire underbody are white. The tail has a sharp triangular notch at the end. Inhabitant of mountain and cultural landscapes. Nests on the walls of rocks and buildings. Migrant. It stays in flocks in the air or sitting on wires; it lands on the ground more often than other swallows. Breeds in colonies. The nest is made from lumps of clay in the shape of a hemisphere with a side entrance. Clutch of 4-6 white eggs in May - June. The voice is a ringing “tirrch-tirrch.”

Shore swallow. The top of the head, neck, back, wings, tail and stripe across the chest are grayish-brown, the throat, chest and belly are white. Tail with a shallow notch. Inhabits river valleys, where it nests along steep banks.

The small swan belongs to the order Anseriformes and the genus of swans. Leads a cautious and rather secretive lifestyle. Prefers to nest in the tundra zone on open spaces. Refers to migratory birds. Small tundra swans are interesting for their social behavior and migrations.

Description of the subspecies

The small swan differs from its closest relatives in its modest size: the body length of an adult bird is no more than 130 cm, its wingspan can reach 180 cm. The body weight of females and males is approximately the same: five to six kilograms. Externally, it is difficult to distinguish individuals of different sexes: they have the same structure and body shape, size, and color. The plumage of an adult bird is snow-white. The feather is very dense, and the down is thick and warm.

The voice of the small tundra swan is very similar to the voice of its closest relative - the whooper, but is much quieter and differs in the uterine sound. Small tundra swans are very noisy birds: when migrating, members of the flock constantly call to each other, which can be heard many kilometers away. When landing, they make a lot of hooting sounds, and in case of fear or danger they can make very sharp, loud, trumpet-like screams. To protect their territory and chicks, they are able to make loud hissing sounds.

IN natural environment habitat, birds can live up to 30 years, maintaining the ability to reproduce until a very old age.

Habitat

It is not so easy to meet a small swan: the bird lives only in remote areas of the northern part of Russia. Small populations of birds fly to the islands of Vaygach and Kolkue, as well as the small southern islands of the archipelago New Earth. You can rarely see birds in Taimyr and Yamal.

Conventionally, the tundra swan is divided into two subspecies:

  • Oriental,
  • West.

The western subspecies or population chooses the tundra strip from Taimyr to the Kola Peninsula for nesting. To the south, nesting sites extend to forest-tundra areas surrounding tributaries and the Yenisei valley. Individual pairs of birds sometimes fly to the Yugorsky and Kanin peninsulas to breed.

The eastern subspecies prefers to settle from the Chuan lowland to the Lena delta itself.

Tundra swans wintering in the Caspian Sea

Subspecies differ not only in nesting areas, but also in migration routes. The western subspecies spends the winter in European countries:

  • In France,
  • Ireland,
  • Denmark,
  • UK,
  • the Netherlands,
  • In the south of Sweden and Norway.

Birds nesting in the south go to spend the winter on the Caspian coast:

  • To Dagestan,
  • Azerbaijan,
  • Kazakhstan,
  • Astrakhan region.

With the onset of cold weather, the eastern subspecies goes to warmer Japan, Korea, coastal regions of China, as well as to the islands Sea of ​​Japan.

Nutrition

Most of the diet of this beautiful waterfowl consists of food plant origin. They feed on aquatic plants and those that they can find on land. They love to pick berries, as well as tubers of some herbs. Very often the grass around the nest is completely plucked out. Small swans also love to feast on various small invertebrates, crustaceans, and mollusks. The tundra swan differs from its fellows in that it loves to catch small fish.

Small swans prefer not to dive for food. Long neck birds allows you to get food even from a meter deep.

Reproduction

The tundra swan is a monogamous bird. They form a couple between the ages of two and four years and remain faithful to their partner throughout their lives. If a partner dies, the second partner very often ends up creating a new couple within a few years. Birds return to their nesting sites in early spring. For nesting, the pair chooses swampy areas of the tundra, near lakes, rivers, and bays. Open water It is vital for swans: it is both a source of food and an opportunity to hide from predators. Lesser swans are the most tolerant of their neighbors - nests of pairs can be located at a distance of less than a kilometer from each other. But if possible, the couple prefers to settle at least two or three kilometers from the other couple.

The nest is usually built by the female. The place chosen is dry and elevated. If the place is good and rich in food, a pair of swans will return for many years. There are no more than five eggs in a clutch. Both partners take part in incubating the eggs. The chicks are born after thirty days.

From the very first day, newborns follow their parents. Very often, after all the chicks have hatched, tundra swans leave the nest and spend all their time on the water. The chicks rest and warm themselves on the backs and under the wings of their parents. Young individuals begin to fly at the age of forty-five days, which is much earlier than in any other subspecies. The young fly away for the winter with their parents and stay close until they return to the nesting sites.

Species protection

In nature, a swan has almost no enemies: the bird is very aggressive and strong.

The male is capable of killing not only feathered representatives, but also arctic foxes and young foxes. Despite this, small swans are under state protection, are listed in the Red Book and hunting them is completely prohibited. The reason for the disappearance is pollution environment, concern from local residents, as well as widespread hunting at the beginning of the last century. Swans were easy and valuable prey, a source delicious meat, warm down and quality feathers.

On the territory of Russia, quite a few nature reserves and nature parks have been organized in bird nesting areas.

Work to restore the population was successful: for recent years the number increased to 35,000.

Its unpretentiousness and beauty have made the bird quite popular for keeping in parks and zoos, which also has a positive effect on the restoration of numbers. They breed easily in captivity given enough food and space. If there is an equipped winter house and an ice-free pond, the pair will remain for the winter on their own, without clipping their wings. Despite their aggressiveness towards birds and animals, tundra swans quickly get used to humans. They are able to not only let them get close to the nest and chicks, but also willingly take food from their hands, can recognize and greet the owner with loud cries, and even beg for a treat.



Related articles