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Psilos Wildfowl Photography |
Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) |
This is the smallest of all the swans, though
there is evidence to suggest that they are more closely related to the
Whistling Ducks. They are all white except for six black primary feathers
which are only visible in flight. Its breeding grounds are to be found
in southern South America. It is a migratory species, wintering up towards
central Chile, northern Argentina, Uruguay and the south east tip of
Brazil. Its habitat can be found on well-vegetated swamps and lagoons,
living mainly on aquatic vegetation, mussels and fish. |
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The female incubates the eggs, while the male
stands guard and aggressively helps to protect the fledglings against
predators after hatching. Coscoroba Swans live to an age of approximately
twenty years. This summer 2004 at Martinmere the breeding pair produced
just one cygnet. The young ones grow quite slowly. The cygnets in the
photo above are approximately 2 weeks old. |
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The juvenile bird above is approximately 6 months old. Before the breeding season begins again he will be removed from his parents and taken to the nursery when he will be kept until he has reached maturity and can be released onto the reserve. This season 2005 the same pair above produced one cygnet which sadly was lost. However, another pair on the reserve did manage to hatch three babies and are currently doing very well. Here is one of them below. |
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