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Animal profile

Mute Swan

Cygnus olor

AvesSlow rivers, lakes, ornamental ponds and sheltered coastal watersLeast Concern

Field profile

The mute swan is a very large white waterbird with an orange bill and a black knob at its base, and it holds its neck in a distinctive curve. It feeds mainly on submerged aquatic plants. Long semi-domesticated in Europe, it is treated as an invasive species in parts of North America where it damages aquatic vegetation.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-03-07

Mute Swan

The mute swan is not actually mute

The name suggests silence, but mute swans hiss, snort and grunt, and their wings produce a loud rhythmic throb in flight that carries far across open water. They are simply quieter than the trumpeting and whooping swans they were named against.

Read with evidence →

Mute Swan | Daily Animal Facts