Trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator)

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Abstract:

The largest native North American waterfowl, the trumpeter swan is a long-lived, social species, conspicuous by its large size, all-white plumage, and trumpet-like call. Although it was formerly abundant and geographically widespread, its numbers and distribution were greatly reduced during the early fur trade and European settlement of North America (1600s–1800s), when it was prized for its skins and primary feathers. Only 69 individuals were known to exist in 1935, but unrecorded flocks also inhabited parts of Alaska and Canada. Numbers have steadily increased with conservation, including protection from shooting, habitat conservation and management, and range expansion programs. A 2005 continent-wide survey found 34,803 individuals in the wild, an increase of 11,156 swans since the 2000 survey. This species account provides the known information about the trumpeter swan's life history, including its distribution, migration, habitat, food habits, sounds, behavior, and breeding. Also included are priorities for future research.

Notes:

Location: This revised (2010) version is online; note to that effect is in ELECTRONIC FILES - Zoology: Birds

Recommended citation:
Mitchell, Carl D. and Michael W. Eichholz. 2010. Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/105
doi:10.2173/bna.105.

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Mitchell CD, Eichholz MW. 2010. Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator). The Birds of North America Online. (A. Poole, editor). Ithaca (NY): Cornell Lab of Ornithology. [revised 2010 Jul 12; accessed 2016 Jan 29]. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/105

BNA prefers that these accounts aren't printed, as they are living documents that can be revised at any time. (However, only major revisions seem to be re-dated and show additional authors.)