Coscoroba Swan

The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba Coscoroba) lives near the coastal areas of South America, as Argentina or Chile. Extremely elegant and refined species, it has a sublime, almost regal aspect with sweet and delicate movements. In natural, it has a rather shy and diffident behavior, it is a very lonely species and it is very difficult for human being to approch with them. They prefers quite and silence areas so they live as far as from men. In captivity, their behaviour is milder the in nature one. The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba Coscoroba) loves coastal areas rich in ponds and lagoons near the sea; it prefers brackish, shallow and calm waters even if it is often found in pairs or in small groups in the ocean in salty waters in search of particular seaweeds very important for its nourishmen. This species flies easily and compared to all the other swans it can take off within short distances, thanks to the smaller size than the other one. So it is called “The Little Swan”. During the flight it emits particular sounds, typical of that species, different from male to female, which make them easily identifiable even from very long distances. The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba Coscoroba) feeds mainly on aquatic plants of various kinds, seaweeds and at particular times of the year it populates the immense expanses of fields cultivated in search of various kinds of grain. Thanks to its rather varied diet, it is possible to breed it successfully in captivity, even if fish-based croquettes are needed to properly complete its feeding. The members of the couple, as in all swan species, are very closed. United throughout their lives, they protect each other throughout the year, especially during reproductive period. The male becomes extremely aggressive and violent towards anyone who decides to approach the nest. The latter is usually built near shallow ponds between thick reeds or small islands near the water with a typical cone shape. Built and formed mainly by reeds and shrubs of various kinds, it is kept glued thanks to the slush; internally in the concave part it is covered by dry grass and soft and warm maternal down. The female of Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba Coscoroba) lays among 4 to 7 milk white eggs; babies with a soft down will always be very close to both parents for 8/10 months. There is no sexual dimorphism among the members of the pair. The male is slightly more robust and tall and differs from female in the sound it emits. Both have a bright red beak, pale pink nails while the legs are intense pink colored. The plumage is pure white with dark brown spots on the head, neck and tail.