Cygnus bewickii 01🦆

Photo: Maga-chan · CC BY-SA 2.5

SpeciesAnseriformesAnatidae
Birds

🦆Tundra swan

Cygnus columbianus (Ord, 1815)

The tundra swan is a species of swan which breeds in the arctic, and overwinters in North America, Europe, and Asia. It is the smallest of the Holarctic swans, at 115–150 cm (45–59 in) in length, 168–211 cm (66–83 in) in wingspan and 3.4–9.6 kg (7.5–21.2 lb) in weight. Typically, the plumage of adults is entirely white, with solid black feet, a black beak that has varying amounts of yellow, and a thin streak of pink along the mouthline, although colour variation is common.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Measurements
12
vs you
≈ 1/10th of your weight
Also called
Cygnus columbianus, Bewick's Swan, whistling swan
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2025.

Population trendStable
Key measurements
Body mass
6.38 kg
Body length
not recorded
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
24 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Tundra swan

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
6.38 kg
AVONET
Other figures ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

By sex

  • Male7.26 kgWikidataQ26603
  • Female6.3 kgWikidataQ26603

Figures vary

  • 6.35 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Tail length
0.16 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Wing length
0.54 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Beak length
0.1 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Tarsus length
0.09 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Maximum lifespan
24 years
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Gestation
31 days
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Litter size
about 4
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Trophic level
Herbivore
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Habitat
Wetland
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Lifestyle
Aquatic
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
6.4 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Tundra swan yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classAves
  4. ›orderAnseriformes
  5. ›familyAnatidae
  6. ›genusCygnus
  7. ›speciesCygnus columbianus
Full lineage
  1. classBirds · Aves
  2. orderDucks, geese & swans · Anseriformes
  3. subfamilyAnserinae
  4. genusCygnus
All 14 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. classBirds · Aves
  10. superorderGalloanserae
  11. orderDucks, geese & swans · Anseriformes
  12. familyAnatidae
  13. subfamilyAnserinae
  14. genusCygnus
More

More about the Tundra swan

In other languages
Pfeifschwan (de), 小天鹅 (zh), Kleine Zwaan (nl), mindre sångsvan (sv), cigne petit (ca), labuť malá (cs) … and 26 more languages
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