Lifespan of Mute Swans

Native to Europe, the British Isles and North Africa, the mute swan captivates bird watchers with its large, graceful white body and is known as an aggressive defender of its nests and chicks. Weighing up to 31 pounds with a wingspan of over eight feet, wild mute swans have been known to live up to 19 years. However, in captivity mute swans can exceed 35 years of age.

  1. Mating Behaviors

    • At one time it was thought that mute swans mated for life; however, current behavioral studies by such facilities as Cornell's Ornithology Department suggests otherwise. Mute swans have been known to have up to four mates and on occasion divorce an unsuitable mate. When a younger male bonds with an older female the pair nests and lives in the female's territory. When a male bonds with a younger female, they nest and live in his territory. When a female loses a mate she re-mates quickly and always chooses a younger male.

    Parenting Behaviors

    • Chicks born covered in soft down only remain in the nest for one day after hatching.

      Mute swans build nesting bowls on dry land. The surrounding thick aquatic vegetation is also used to build the bowls. Both parents take part in sitting and rearing of the chicks (cygnets). Although chicks can swim from day one, they commonly ride on the back or under the wing of the parents, though the male takes the first chick down to the water. Cygnets begin to fly after 60 days but do not leave their parents until after 12 months.

    Communication Behaviors

    • Due to the straight trachea that results in the birds being nearly mute, mute swans primarily communicate with body language and visual displays of posture, such as the male arching his wings and secondary feathers above the center of his back to show aggression. However, on occasion males hiss or perform a bark similar to that of a pup. And much like some species of dove, the wings of the mute swan during flight produces an rhythmic humming that has been described as a musical throbbing.

    Conservation Status

    • The heads of mute swans are sometimes stained brown from mud or iron water.

      Although mute swans represent the majority of all wild swan species, some states make conservation efforts to preserve the species while other states do not. Mute swans are normally seen in parks, but they do not form colonies when they nest and will guard between five to 10 acres of land surrounding a nesting site. The aggressive nature of mute swans compete with native wildlife for nesting space and food, which makes them of concern to agriculture and environmental departments preserving native species in North America.