Trumpeter Swan - Ross Feldner In addition to its stunning wingspan, the Trumpeter Swan also is the heaviest living bird native to North America as well as being one of the heaviest living birds or animals capable of flight, and, in terms of average mass, the heaviest flying bird in the world. The breeding habitat of Trumpeter Swans includes large and shallow ponds, undisturbed lakes, pristine wetlands, wide and slow rivers, and marshes in northwestern and central North America. The largest numbers of breeding pairs are found in Alaska. Trumpeter Swans prefer nesting sites with enough surface water for them to have space to take off, accessible and reliable food sources, shallow, unpolluted water, and little to no human disturbance. When their eggs and young are threatened, the parents can be quite aggressive, initially displaying with head bobbing and hissing. If this is not sufficient, the adults will physically combat the predator, battering with their powerful wings. Adults have managed to beat predators equal to their own weight such as coyotes in confrontations. Trumpeter Swans feed while swimming, sometimes up-ending or dabbling for submerged food. The diet is almost entirely aquatic plants and occasionally insects. They eat both the leaves and stems of submerged and emergent vegetation. They will also dig into muddy substrates underwater to extract roots and tubers. | |
