IDENTIFICATION

140-165 cm. Very large, white, sometimes washed pale brownish on head and neck. Long neck, equal to or longer than body in flight. Long black-tipped yellow bill (yellow reaching beyond the nostril) with nearly straight culmen. Young birds have same bill pattern but much duller more pinkish pale area and duller dirtier plumage.

VOCALISATIONS

Compared to the most likely confusion species Tundra Swan C. columbianus, calls are louder and slightly lower-pitched. However, none of the swans recorded in HK were reported to have vocalised.

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE

The first record occurred on a brackish gei wai at Mai Po NR, while the second was seen in flight over inshore waters at Sai Kung. The 14 unidentified swans were seen in the intertidal area of Deep Bay from the Mai Po boardwalk.

OCCURRENCE

There are two records:

2001: an adult at Mai Po NR on 13 March (Kilburn 2007).

2014: a juvenile seen from Sai Kung pier on 26 January.

In addition, 14 unidentified swans, either Whooper or Tundra Swan, were seen in Deep Bay on 16 November 1992.

BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET

No observations.

RANGE & SYSTEMATICS

Monotypic. Breeds in Iceland and from Scandinavia east across Eurasia as far south as Kazakhstan and Mongolia and as far east as Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Chukotka. Winters to the south in scattered areas of Europe, around the Black and Caspian Seas; in Asia winters in east China, the Korean peninsula and Japan (Carboneras and Kirwan 2020). In China, breeds in northern Xinjiang and the northern areas of northeast China; winters from the Yellow River to the central and lower reaches of the Yangtze including coastal areas (Liu and Chen 2020).

CONSERVATION STATUS

IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend unknown.