Mute Swan Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Calls
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Massachusetts, June 10, 1983Recorded by Dolly Minis / Macaulay Library
Calls
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New York, March 07, 2009Recorded by Jessie Barry / Macaulay Library
Hiss
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Massachusetts, May 08, 2010Recorded by Ian Davies
Wing sound
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Storstrøm, May 13, 2009Recorded by Niels Krabbe / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Mute Swans aren’t mute, but their hoarse, muffled trumpet or bugle call given during territorial defense doesn’t carry like the calls of other swan species. Mute Swans also make an explosive snorting or hissing when threatened or disturbed. Mates greet each other with a short, snoring sound, and females solicit their mates with a slow glock, glock call. Female swans call to their broods with a sound like a yapping puppy. When in a group Mute Swans growl, whistle, and snort at each other. Cygnets whistle a soft, low-volume contact call when preening or feeding with adults, and peep noisily at a high pitch when distressed or lost.

Other Sounds

As they land Mute Swans slap the water with their feet, either pattering alternately or striking simultaneously, to alert possible intruders. In flight the swan’s wings make a rhythmic humming or whistling sound that carries more than a mile and may help the birds communicate with each other.