Bewick’s Swan

Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) belongs to the Anatidae family and populates the Nordic Eurasian countries, from Siberian Russia to the Kola Peninsula. Migratory species winters in Great Britain, in Netherlands, Denmark but also China and Japan. The Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii), so named by the famous illustrator and sculptor in wood Thomas Bewick, is the smallest and most terrestrial of all the Swans in the North. Sociable and less reserved than the other species, it often meets in large flocks, consisting of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of specimens. Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) avoids areas rich in human presence, despite being easily domesticated in captivity, and prefers wet pastures, flooded prairies and fields mainly cultivated with wheat. It is rarely seen in salty waters and usually populates lagoons, large ponds and streams. The diet is mainly of plant origin, made up of leaves, herbs of various kinds, tubers, aquatic roots and mixed grains. The mating period coincides perfectly with that of all the Nordic Swans, although the couples that form in autumn rarely go to nest south of the Artic Circle. The best area is represented by the inaccessible and uninhabited Eurasian tundra between the Kanin Peninsula and the Chukota Sea. The ideal habitat for nesting is represented by small islets that form in the ponds of the lower tundra, in swamps, lakes and estuaries.  It is almost exclusively for the male to build the nest which, raised fron the ground, on top of small and dry hammocks of the tundra, allows a dominant view and manages to guarantee greater safety from possible harmful attacks. The female of Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) lays from 3 to 5 cream-white eggs. So shiny and elongatet they are very large compared to the body size of the animl itself. The incubation of the eggs, which is shorter than all the other swans, lasts 29/30 days and young at the time of birth are very large in size and their development is very rapid. It is estimated that already after 40/45 days they are already civered with feathers; the need to migrate quickly, due to the glacial temperatures, conditions and speeds up to the development and growth of the young. There is no sexual dimorphism in the couple. The Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) resembles the Wild Swan (Cygnus Cyìguns) even if the size is smaller than the first, the neck shorter, the head more round and less angular. In flight they are very similar although the Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) is faster than the other due to its smaller size. The beak is so very bright yellow in color that extends to the nostrils; this characteristics allows to distinguish the Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus Bewickii) from the American Lesser Swan (Cygnus Colombianus) which has an almost completely back beak.