Mute swan
Cygnus olor (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
The mute swan (Cygnus olor) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized bird by body mass, with adults weighing 10.68 kg (from 9.6 to 11.8 kg), a body length of 1.475 m and a wingspan of 2.3 m.
Quick facts about the mute swan
The mute swan is a migratory, aquatic herbivore of wetland habitats. It lays one clutch per year of 5.95 eggs, which are incubated for 36 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 9.6 kg – 11.8 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 1.25 m – 1.7 msrc for Length
- Height
- 1.2 msrc for Height
- Wingspan
- 2.1 m – 2.5 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 27.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 70 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 36 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.95src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3 years – 3.24 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the mute swan?
Photos of the mute swan
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the mute swan live?
Not recorded
What is the mute swan?
The mute swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan and a member of the family Anatidae within the waterfowl order. It is native to much of Europe and parts of Asia and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to the largest populations outside of its native range, with additional smaller introductions in Australasia and Southern Africa. The name "mute" derives from it being less vocal than other swan species. Typically measuring 140 to 160 cm (55 to 63 in) in length, this large swan is wholly white in plumage, with an orange beak bordered with black. It is recognisable by its pronounced knob atop the beak, which is larger in males.
From the Wikipedia article “Mute swan” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mute_swan&oldid=1383130791), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the mute swan sound like?
Is the mute swan endangered?
The mute swan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the mute swan classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusCygnus
- SpeciesCygnus olor (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Synonyms Anas mansuetus, Anas olor, Cygnus bicolor, Cygnus gibbus, Cygnus mutus, Sthenelides olor
Other names and names in other languages (97)
- WitswaanAfrikaans
- تم أبكمArabic
- تم أخرسArabic
- تم صامتArabic
- ХӀанкъваAvaric
- Fısıldayan quAzerbaijani
- Лебедзь-шыпунBelarusian
- Ням лебедBulgarian
- Alarc'h roueelBreton
- An alarc'h roueelBreton
- cigne mutCatalan
- Эхелян йӱксӹMari
- Ҫурҫӗр акӑшӗChuvash
- labuť velkáCzech
- Kôłp sniegùlcKashubian
- alarch dofWelsh
- Elyrch DofWelsh
- knopsvaneDanish
- HöckerschwanGerman
- ΚύκνοςGreek
- ΒουβόκυκνοςGreek
- Κοινός ΚύκνοςGreek
- (Κοινός) ΚύκνοςGreek
- CignoEsperanto
- muta cignoEsperanto
- Cisne mudoSpanish
- Cisne blancoSpanish
- Cisne vulgarSpanish
- kühmnokk-luikEstonian
- Beltxarga arruntaBasque
- قوی گنگPersian
- kyhmyjoutsenFinnish
- KnópsvanurFaroese
- Cygne muetFrench
- Cygne tuberculéFrench
- cygne tuburculéFrench
- Grat swaanNorthern Frisian
- KnobbelswanWestern Frisian
- eala bhànScottish Gaelic
- eala bhalbhScottish Gaelic
- Eala-bhànScottish Gaelic
- ealachan bànaScottish Gaelic
- CisneGalician
- OllayManx
- Ollay vallooManx
- ברבור אילםHebrew
- ברבור מצויHebrew
- Grbavi labudCroatian
- crvenokljuni labudCroatian
- bütykös hattyúHungarian
- Կարապ թշշանArmenian
- Թշշան կարապArmenian
- AngsaIndonesian
- Angsa PutihIndonesian
- HnúðsvanurIcelandic
- cigno realeItalian
- コブハクチョウJapanese
- სისინა გედიGeorgian
- Сыбырлақ аққуKazakh
- 혹고니Korean
- AlarghCornish
- SchwanLuxembourgish
- SchwunnLuxembourgish
- gulbė nebylėLithuanian
- paugurknābja gulbisLatvian
- WānaMāori
- црвеноклун лебедMacedonian
- Ċinju MutuMaltese
- knobbelzwaanDutch
- knoppsvaneNorwegian
- łabędź niemyPolish
- cisne-mudoPortuguese
- Cisne-brancoPortuguese
- YukuQuechua
- Cign dumestiRomansh
- lebăda de varăRomanian
- Lebădă de varăRomanian
- лебедь-шипунRussian
- BoallonjukčaNorthern Sami
- labuť veľkáSlovak
- Labuť hrbozobáSlovak
- labod grbecSlovenian
- Mjelma me xhungëAlbanian
- mjellma me xhungëAlbanian
- ЛабудовиSerbian
- Лабуд грбацSerbian
- Црвенокљуни лабуд - Crvenokljuni labudSerbian
- Labud grbacSerbian
- knölsvanSwedish
- kuguTurkish
- kuğuTurkish
- Sessiz KuğuTurkish
- Лебідь-шипунUkrainian
- 瘤鵠Chinese
- 疣鼻天鵝Chinese
- 疣鼻天鵝〔赤嘴天鵝〕Chinese
- 疣鼻天鹅Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the mute swan
Other species in the same genus Cygnus.
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
Black swan
Cygnus atratus
Tundra swan
Cygnus columbianus
Black-necked swan
Cygnus melancoryphus
Trumpeter swan
Cygnus buccinator
CompareMute swan vs Whooper swanMute swan vs Black swanMute swan vs Tundra swanMute swan vs Black-necked swan
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How big is a mute swan?
Adult Mute swans weigh 10.68 kg, with a body length of 1.475 m, a height of 1.2 m and a wingspan of 2.3 m.
What does the mute swan eat?
The mute swan is a herbivore.
What habitat does the mute swan live in?
The mute swan lives in wetland habitats and has an aquatic lifestyle.
Is the mute swan endangered?
No. The mute swan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a mute swan live?
Sources give a lifespan of 27.69 years for the mute swan, with values up to 70 years.
How many eggs does a mute swan lay?
The mute swan lays 5.95 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year and an incubation period of 36 days.
What kind of animal is the mute swan?
The mute swan is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, in the family Anatidae and the genus Cygnus.
Who named the mute swan?
The mute swan, Cygnus olor, was named by (J. F. Gmelin, 1789).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mute swan (Cygnus olor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mute-swan
“Mute swan (Cygnus olor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mute-swan.
@misc{mute_swan_2026,
title = {Mute swan (Cygnus olor)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mute-swan},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}