Mute swans form monogamous relationships, mating with the same partner for life. They form pairs when they are about two years old. And they first nest usually at 3 to 4 years of age.
After finding a proper place, the couple works together to build the nest.
Using the beak to collect sticks, the male makes a base for the nest. He then places more material nearby, and the female piles it onto the nest base and uses her body and feet to mold the nest cup.
The male guards the nest while the female broods the eggs. She leaves the nest momentarily only to feed and bathe.
The female Mute swan usually lays 4 to 10 eggs each breeding season. She incubates the eggs for around 36 days.
Like other birds, the Mute swan mother rotates the eggs in the nest during brooding, which is believed to be crucial for the development of the embryos.
The cygnets usually hatch between May and July.
About a week after their birth, the cygnets go into the water to feed.
They eat protein-rich aquatic insects during their first weeks to later transition into a plant-based diet, just like the adults. Mute swans feed on marine plant material as well as ground grasses.
The cygnets remain close to the nest, resting under their mother's wings.
And it takes them about 120 to 150 days to learn to fly. The young swans need to know how to fly before the ponds and lakes freeze over.
The young swans remain with their parent through their first winter and stay with them until the following spring.
Juvenile swans are mostly grey with browny-grey patches, and after one year, the young swans start becoming distinctively white.
The juvenile Mute swans leave their parents when they are about ten months old.
The young swans join a group of other young independent Mute swans for about two to three years.
In this group, a young swan finds a mate within about a year, and after another year or two, the couple leaves the group to find a place to build their first nest, have their first brood, and start raising the cygnets.
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• Mute Swans Forming a F...
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1 окт 2024
