Coscoroba Swan

Cisne Coscoroba

Coscoroba coscoroba

Length: 1080mm. Sexes alike. Bill red with pale pink nail; iris whitish in male and dark brown in female; plumage entirely white except for the tip of outer remiges which are blackish brown. Legs deep pink.

Juveniles: grey on maxilla; knob and mandible are pale pink or whitish; iris dark brown; plumage white with brown spots on the head, neck and above, from back to tail. Habitat and behaviour: easily identified by its large size, white plumage, red bill and long neck, it is not as common as the Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus); often found in pairs or in small groups.

It mainly frequents large shallow ponds of brackish water with little or no emergent vegetation, but also inhabits open spaces of ponds bordered by thick reed beds; it is wary and hard to approach; it may be seen walking; it flies with ease and to take off it taxis along short distances. In flight it utters a strong bugle-like call, consisting of four notes. This species nests among reed beds or on islets in shallow or hollow ponds; the nest, that consists of a cone-shaped platform, is built with reeds and other aquatic plants held together with mud; the concave part is lined with dry grass and covered with a layer of feathers and down. Clutch size is up to six white eggs, seldom eight or nine. Only the female incubates but both parents tend the chicks, which hatch with greyish white down and dark brown spots. It basically feeds on aquatic plants. Range: in Patagonia the Coscoroba Swan occurs from Neuquén and Río Negro to Tierra del Fuego, a rare visitor to Islas Malvinas; often found in steppe ponds and on the sea shore; rare or very rare in large freshwater lakes in the Andes; in winter it migrates north.

Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia

Kindless: Kovacs Family