The Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) is the smallest of the swans recorded in Sweden, essentially a scaled-down Whooper Swan with a shorter neck and much less yellow on the bill, seen here only as a passage and resting visitor from Siberia. It measures 115–127 cm in length, has a wingspan of 170–195 cm and weighs 3.4–7.8 kilograms, all figures clearly below those of the Whooper Swan. The plumage is entirely white, and the black bill carries a yellow patch at the base that is smaller and more rounded than the Whooper Swan's, which instead extends forward into a pointed wedge; the neck is also shorter and often held straighter.
Its voice is a soft, somewhat yelping "hoo-hoo," lighter and far less trumpeting than the powerful call of the Whooper Swan, and resting flocks keep up a constant low murmuring among themselves. Tundra Swans do not breed in Sweden; the birds recorded here are simply passing through on migration between their Arctic breeding grounds on the tundra of northern Russia and their wintering areas along the North Sea coasts, and they show no breeding behaviour at Swedish sites. Resting flocks concentrate in wetland areas of southern Sweden, especially in Skåne and on Öland, chiefly during March–April and again in October–November, with numbers varying from year to year; classic sites include Foteviken and Ottenby. They feed on aquatic plants and, at their resting sites, on waste grain and green plant matter on fields and pasture, often grazing alongside other swans and geese. The global population is considered stable and of least conservation concern.
Read about this species in Swedish →