Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus - Bewick's Swan outside the U.S.)

The Bewick's Swan, Cygnus columbianus (Tundra Swan in Canada and the United States) is a small Holarctic swan. This taxon is sometimes split into two species, C. bewickii of the Palaearctic and the Whistling Swan C. columbianus of the Nearctic but the latest evidence suggests they should be considered as subspecies within C. columbianus. Bewick's Swan is named after the engraver Thomas Bewick, who specialised in illustrations of birds and animals.

Description

Bewick's is the smallest of the three Holarctic swans, at 45-58 inches in length, a 67-77 inches wingspan and a weight range of 8.8-21 lbs. C. c. bewickii is similar in appearance to the Whooper Swan, but is smaller, shorter-necked and has a more rounded head shape, with variable bill pattern, but always showing more black than yellow (the other way round with Whooper Swans). The bill pattern for every bird is unique, and scientists make detailed drawings of each and give them names to assist with studying this species. C. c. columbianus is distinguished from C. c. bewickii by its largely black bill with a small yellow spot of variable size at the base. C. c. columbianus also averages larger than C. c. bewickii. C. c. columbianus is distinguished from the Trumpeter Swan of North America by that species' larger size and large bill, which is lined with salmon-pink along the mouthline instead of yellow on the lores.

Distribution

Bewick's Swans breed in the Arctic, C. c. bewickii right across northern Russia from the Kola Peninsula east to the Pacific, C. c. columbianus in Alaska and Canada. C. c. bewickii migrates via the White Sea, Estonia, the Elbe estuary to winter in the Netherlands and the British Isles, especially in the wildfowl nature reserves of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Populations breeding in eastern Russia (roughly east of the Taimyr Peninsula) winter in Japan and China; these are sometimes separated as the subspecies C. c. jankowski, but this is not widely accepted as distinct, most authors including them in C. c. bewickii. C. c. columbianus winters in the coastal USA.

Bald Eagles can weigh up to 14 pounds and attain a height of 3 to 3 1/2 feet. They have a huge wing span of 6–8 feet. Typically, the female of the species is larger that the male and bald eagles living in the north are believed to be larger than ones in the south. They can live up to 30 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.