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Trumpeter Swan

Liz Bonnin presents the sonorous trumpeter swan of North America.

Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.

Liz Bonnin presents the sonorous trumpeter swan of North America. Across an Alaskan wilderness powerful sounds and calls emanate from the largest and heaviest of all wildfowl, the pure white trumpeter swan. With a wingspan of up to 250 cm, the biggest male trumpeter swan on record weighed over 17 kilogrammes, heavier than mute swans. They breed on shallow ponds and lakes in the wilder parts of north west and central North America. Hunted for feathers and skins, they were once one of the most threatened birds on the continent, with only 69 birds known in the United States, although populations hung on in Alaska and Canada. Since then trumpeters have been protected by law and populations have recovered in many areas. Alaska and Canada remain strongholds and today reintroductions are returning this musical bird to their former range in the USA.

Available now

2 minutes

Last on

Mon 1 Aug 2022 05:58

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

Webpage image courtesy of Charlie Cairns / naturepl.com.

NPL Ref Β© Charlie Cairns / naturepl.com.

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 Jan 2015 05:58
  • Wed 27 Jan 2016 05:58
  • Thu 12 Sep 2019 05:58
  • Fri 23 Oct 2020 05:58
  • Mon 1 Aug 2022 05:58

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