Ask the Swan Specialist

Re: 1 year old Mute Swan still half grey, will that change?
By:The Regal Swan
Date: 28 May 2014

Hi Dewi:

Most swans will leave the habitat at approximately 8-10 months of age when the parents chase them for the next mating/nesting season. Since this is a park setting, then it would seem that the caretakers may have arranged for the cygnets to stay by either keeping them at the park and/or pinioning them (keeping them from being able to fly). Past cygnets may have been removed from the park to find the young birds another home. If the swans are wild, they may have left the park on their own in search of another habitat to start their own families.

If the other cygnets have turned white and the last swan has not, it may mean that this young swan may have been the runt, so he/she is the youngest and is just going to take a little longer to mature. If there is a genetic anomaly, then this could be the young swan’s permanent coloration. The Regal Swan

Messages In This Thread

1 year old Mute Swan still half grey, will that change? -- Dewi -- 28 May 2014
Re: 1 year old Mute Swan still half grey, will that change? -- The Regal Swan -- 28 May 2014