Index of Species Information
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cygnus columbianus
Introductory
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cygnus columbianus
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Tesky, Julie L. 1993. Cygnus columbianus. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/animals/bird/cyco/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
CYCO
COMMON NAMES :
tundra swan
whistling swan
Bewick's swan
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for the tundra swan is Cygnus
columbianus. There are two North American subspecies: Cygnus
columbianus ssp. columbianus (Ord) and C. columbianus ssp. bewickii
Yarrell (Bewick's swan) [1,16]. Hybrids have occurred among captive
stock between C. columbianus and the following species: Australian
black swan (C. atratus), mute swan (C. olor), whooper swan (C. cygnus),
trumpeter swan (C. buccinator), and Canada goose (Branta canadensis) [6].
ORDER :
Anseriformes
CLASS :
Bird
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cygnus columbianus
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
The tundra swan (C. columbianus ssp. columbianus) breeds from northern
Alaska (Point Barrow and Cape Prince of Wales), south to St. Lawrence
Island and the Alaska Peninsula, and east near the Arctic Coast to
Baffin Island, Hudson Bay, and Churchill and the Belcher islands.
Bewick's swan breeds from Russia east along the Arctic Coast to northern
Siberia. It occasionally occurs in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest
coast [1,6].
Cygnus columbianus ssp. columbianus winters in two regions. Populations
in Alaska and Yukon Territory chiefly winter in the Central Valley of
California, but some birds winter along Pacific coastal regions from
southern Alaska to California and east to Utah, southern Arizona, and
southern New Mexico. Tundra swans of the rest of the range migrate
southwards to winter in the interior Great Lakes region or on coastal
marshes from Maryland south to North Carolina, Florida, and Texas. The
tundra swan occasionally winters as far north as Maine [1,8]. Bewick's
swan winters in Eurasia in the British Isles, northern Europe, the
Caspian Sea, Japan, Korea, and the coast of China [1].
During migration, the tundra swan (C. columbianus ssp. columbianus)
occurs widely throughout interior North America on large bodies of
water. It is primarily found in the Great Basin, upper Mississippi
Valley, and the Great Lakes region, but also occurs in the Appalachian
Mountains in southern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia [1].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White-red-jack pine
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES23 Fir-spruce
FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
STATES :
| AK |
AZ |
AR |
CA |
CO |
DE |
ID |
| IA |
MD |
MI |
MN |
MO |
MT |
NJ |
| NM |
NY |
NC |
ND |
OH |
OR |
PA |
| SC |
SD |
TX |
UT |
VA |
WA |
WI |
WY |
| AB |
BC |
MB |
NT |
ON |
PE |
PQ |
SK |
YK |
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K025 Alder - ash forest
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
16 Aspen
204 Black spruce
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
222 Black cottonwood - willow
223 Sitka spruce
225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
235 Cottonwood - willow
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Tundra swans are generally found in wetland areas among aquatic and
emergent vegetation. They are commonly found feeding in extensive beds
of pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.) [10]. Other plant species found in
wetland areas occupied by tundra swans include willows (Salix spp.),
wild celery (Valisineria americana), smartweed (Polygonum persicaria),
muskgrasses (Characeae spp.), bulrushes (Scirpus spp.), horsetail
(Equisetum spp.), and sedges (Carex spp.) [10].
REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY
BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cygnus columbianus
TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS :
Age at first breeding - Tundra swans first breed when they are 2 or
3 years old. They form lifelong monogamous pairs [10].
Nesting - Tundra swans start nesting in late May to late June depending
on location and weather [2,10].
Clutch size and incubation - Tundra swans generally lay a clutch of four
or five eggs [6,10]. The incubation period is 30 to 32 days [10].
Cygnet development and fledging - Tundra swan cygnets are generally able
to fly within 9 to 10 weeks. The family remains together during the
fall migration, through winter, and during spring migration [10].
Molt - On the Yukon Delta, adult tundra swans molt between July and
August and regain flight within 35 to 40 days. Nonbreeders, which
remain in flocks of 3 to 15 during the breeding season, regain flight in
late August and begin to congregate in sizable flocks [2].
Fall migration - Tundra swans migrate in family units, with several
families and probably some nonbreeding birds combining in a single flock
[2]. In the West, tundra swans leave major breeding grounds in Alaska
in late September and early October. Marshes adjoining the eastern
shore of Great Salt Lake begin to receive tundra swans in mid-October.
Tundra swans begin arriving at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in
Oregon from mid- to late November and remain abundant well into
December. In the Klamath basins of Oregon and California, wintering
tundra swans do not arrive in substantial numbers until late November
and early December. On winter grounds adjacent to San Francisco Bay,
the swans are not present in great numbers until early December [2].
The eastern contingent of tundra swans passes across Minnesota,
Wisconsin, and Michigan, largely during November 5 to 15. Tundra swans
on Chesapeake Bay slowly increase in numbers through December and reach
a peak in January [2].
Spring migration - Tundra swans begin leaving their winter habitat after
the first spring thaw [2]. Tundra swans from Chesapeake Bay cross
Pennsylvania to Lake Erie from the first week in March into early April.
Tundra swans leave their central California winter grounds in
mid-February, and within 3 weeks almost all have departed. By early
April most have migrated north to Alaska and Canada. The first swans
generally reach their breeding grounds on the Yukon Delta in late April
and almost all arrive by mid-May. The western population of tundra
swans migrate earlier and more swiftly than its eastern counterpart [2].
PREFERRED HABITAT :
Breeding habitat - Tundra swans usually breed on or near tundra ponds,
lakes, and sluggish rivers, and less often near sheltered tidal waters.
They tend to avoid areas near exposed marine coasts [1,8,10].
Nest sites - Tundra swans often select islets in tundra ponds and lakes
as nest sites [10]. Nests are also commonly located on the main shores
of lakes or ponds, heath tundras, hummocks in marshes or tidal meadows,
or more rarely, level stretches in marsh or meadow areas [2,15]. The
nest is an elaborate platform, 12 to 18 inches (30-45 cm) high, composed
of mosses, grasses, and sedges. It resembles a muskrat house surrounded
by a moat. In making the nest, the vegetation is plucked from around
the nest site, creating a circle of open water up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in
diameter [2]. In optimum habitat, several pairs of swans may have nests
very widely spaced but still in view of one onother [10].
Winter habitat - In winter, tundra swans use extensive shallow fresh and
brackish water. They are less frequently found on salt water. Migrants
occur at ponds, lakes, flooded lowlands, slow-moving streches of rivers,
and estuaries [8,10].
COVER REQUIREMENTS :
Tall emergent vegetation provides shelter and cover for tundra swans.
Adult swans remove vegetation around the nest until the nest is
surrounded by open water [2,10].
FOOD HABITS :
Tundra swans eat the stems, seeds, and bulbous roots of aquatic plants,
and the seeds and young shoots of cultivated grains. They also eat a
small amount of animal matter consisting mainly of the larvae of aquatic
beetles and dragon flies, worms, and mollusks [2,10].
Tundra swans feed on the following plants: foxtail (Alopecurus spp.) and
other grasses, wild celery, pondweeds, smartweeds, square-stem spike
rush (Eleocharis quadrangulata), arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.), coontail
(Ceratophyllum demersum), mermaid weed (Prosperinaca spp.), muskgrasses,
bulrushes, horsetail, wigeon grass (Ruppia maritima), and bur reed
(Sparganium spp.). Rice and barley are eaten in stubble fields [2,10].
Tundra swans also feed on waste corn in both dry and flooded fields and
upon harvested potatoes. These swans commonly fly as far as 10 to 15
miles (16-24 km) inland to glean waste corn and soybeans and to
browse upon shoots of winter wheat [2].
PREDATORS :
Little information is available in the literature regarding predation on
tundra swans. Bellrose [2] reported that nests have been destroyed by
gulls (Larus spp.) and foxes. The following species also occur in
tundra swan habitat and could potentially prey on tundra swans: coyotes
(Canis lutrans), river otters (Lutra canadensis), minks (Mustela vison),
black bears (Ursus americanus), grizzly bears (U. arctos), bald eagles
(Haliaetus leucocephalus), mountain lions (Felis concolor), skunks
(Mephitis spp. and Spilogale spp.), and raccoons (Procyon lotor). In a
few states, experimental hunting of tundra swans is allowed. Generally,
a one swan per hunter limit is imposed [10]. Taking of tundra swan eggs
and the hunting of flightless molting birds by Native Americans are
significant mortality factors in some areas [10].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
The tundra swan is the most common and widespread swan in North America
[15]. Winter surveys of tundra swans during the 1950's in the United
States revealed an average population of 78,000. This figure increased
to 98,000 during the 1960's and to 133,000 during 1970-74. The lowest
population recorded from 1949 to 1974 was in 1950 at 49,000, and the
highest was 157,000 in January 1971. Although the number of tundra
swans found on the winter surveys has varied considerably from year to
year, there has been a slow increase in the continental population over
the last 25 years [2].
REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cygnus columbianus
DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS :
No specific information was found in the literature regarding the direct
effects of fire on tundra swans. However, adult nonmolting tundra swans
can probably easily escape fire. Molting adults, nests, and cygnets are
probably most susceptible to fire.
HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS :
Fire occurring in wetland habitats often removes excessive accumulations
of fast-growing hydrophytes, permitting better waterfowl access, more
feeding and loafing areas, and growth of more desirable tundra swan
foods such as pondweeds [11,12]. In the Nebraska sandhills many
desirable plants for waterfowl, such as duckweeds (Lemna spp.), pondweeds,
and wild rice (Zizania spp.) become more abundant following fire because
more open water is created [11].
There may be some negative effects of burning waterfowl habitat.
Large-scale autumn burning may have a detrimental effect upon marshes by
reducing the retention of drifting snow. The ability of marsh
vegetation to catch and hold snow is vital to marsh survival [13].
FIRE USE :
Prescribed burning is an effective method of manipulating waterfowl
habitat [11,14]. Fire can be used to convert forested uplands adjacent
to aquatic habitats to grasses and sedges, which are more suitable for
tundra swan nesting. Additionally, removal of dense vegetation and
prevention of woody encroachment is vital to prairie marsh maintenance
[12]. Less dense vegetation allows space for waterfowl movement and
activities [11]. According to Ward [13], spring burning in marshlands
is primarily done to remove vegetation and create more nesting edge for
waterfowl. Summer fires are used to create more permanent changes in
the plant community [13]. Prescribed burning during the nesting season
should be avoided so as not to disturb nesting females and/or destroy
nests and cygnets.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
REFERENCES :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cygnus columbianus
REFERENCES :
1. American Ornithologists' Union. 1983. Checklist of North American birds.
6th ed. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, Inc. 877 p. [21234]
2. Bellrose, Frank C. 1980. Ducks, geese and swans of North America.
Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. 3rd ed. 540 p. [19802]
3. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
4. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
6. Johnsgard, Paul A. 1979. A guide to North American waterfowl.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. 274 p. [20026]
7. Kortright, Francis H. 1942. The ducks, geese and swans of North America.
Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Company; Washington, DC: Wildlife
Management Institute. 476 p. [21240]
8. Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary. 1988. Waterfowl: An indentification guide to
the ducks, geese and swans of the world. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Company. 298 p. [20029]
9. Musgrove, Jack W.; Musgrove, Mary R. 1943. Waterfowl in Iowa. Des
Moines, IA: State Convservation Committee. 113 p. + index. [20028]
10. Palmer, Ralph S., editor. 1976. Handbook of North American birds. vol.
2. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 521 p. [21242]
11. Schlichtemeier, Gary. 1967. Marsh burning for waterfowl. In:
Proceedings, 6th annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1967 March
6-7; Tallahassee, FL. No. 6. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research
Station: 40-46. [16450]
12. Vogl, Richard J. 1967. Controlled burning for wildlife in Wisconsin. In:
Proceedings, 6th annual Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference; 1967 March
6-7; Tallahassee, FL. No. 6. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research
Station: 47-96. [18726]
13. Ward, P. 1968. Fire in relation to waterfowl habitat of the delta
marshes. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference;
1968 March 14-15; Tallahassee, FL. No. 8. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers
Research Station: 255-267. [18932]
14. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States
and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620]
15. DeGraaf, Richard M.; Scott, Virgil E.; Hamre, R. H.; [and others]. 1991.
Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and
habitat use. Agric. Handb. 688. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 625 p. [15856]
16. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
17. American Ornithologists' Union. 1957. Checklist of North American birds.
5th ed. Baltimore, MD: The Lord Baltimore Press, Inc. 691 p. [21235]
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