Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

• HABITAT - Mute Swan is native to much of Europe and Siberia,and introduced species in North America. They are now numerous and familiar in city parks and in bays and lakes in the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, and Midatlantic.
• DIET - Mute Swans eat aquatic plant material, grasses, and waste grain. They also eat insects, snails, and other small aquatic creatures. They feed by dabbling at water's surface, dipping head and neck below surface, and upending with tail up and head extending straight down.
• FACTS - The black knob at the tip of the male Mute Swan's bill swells during the breeding season and becomes noticeably larger than the female's. The rest of the year, the sexes are too similar to tell the difference.