Tundra Swan sounds

Listen to the Tundra Swan

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

What to listen for

The Tundra Swan has high-pitched honking calls, similar to a black goose. On wintering grounds, flocks become especially vocal when foraging, and arrivals or departures stir loud excited calling.

Many listeners write its call as “bow-wow...”. Treat a written sound as a memory aid; individual birds and regions vary.

When you are most likely to hear it: Especially when foraging in flocks on wintering grounds.

What it looks like

The Tundra Swan is the smallest Holarctic swan, with entirely white adult plumage, black feet, and a mostly black bill marked by a thin salmon-pink mouthline and variable yellow near the base. Iron-rich waters may stain the head and neck golden or rusty.

Where to find it

It breeds in Arctic and subarctic tundra, inhabiting shallow pools, lakes, and rivers, then migrates to winter grasslands and marshlands, often near coasts. During migration it may stop on mountain lakes and visits harvested fields for discarded grain.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

• Alaska
• Arctic
• California
• East Asia
• Eastern Canada
• Eastern Europe
• Florida
• Great Lakes
• Mid-Atlantic
• New England
• Northern Europe
• Northwest
• Plains
• Southeast
• Southern Europe
• Texas
• Western Canada
• Western Europe

Did you know?

• Each Bewick's swan has a unique bill pattern, used by scientists to identify individuals.
• Some migrating Tundra Swans can fly at altitudes of 8 km in a V formation.

Learn the Tundra Swan by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

Start studying freeGet the iPhone or Android app

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Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Maga-chan, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.