Swans & Their Diet

Mute swans.

Swans are known as beautiful and graceful animals. Often people see these birds and want to feed them or even consider raising them on their own. But swans have a rather specialized diet, which plays an important role in their overall health and well-being. So it's important to note what they eat and don't eat before attempting to feed them.

Types of Swans

There are six types of swans, living on most continents of the world (there are none in Africa or Antarctica). The vast majority of swan species (four of them), live in the Northern Hemisphere, with one species each living in South America and Australia. The six species are the tundra swan, the black swan, the trumpeter swan, the black-necked swan, the whooper swan and the mute swan. The black and black-necked swans are the two species that live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Wild Diet

Though there are different species of swans, all eat a very similar diet. In the wild, adult swans are almost completely herbivorous. They prefer to eat aquatic plants, plucking them from the water using their long necks. Some plants they enjoy are duck potato and waterweed. They will sometimes eat insects, though these play a much smaller role in their feeding habits. They are also fond of cereal crops, and sometimes even make pests of themselves by destroying crops with their large feet.

Human Feeding

Often in parks and other areas frequented by people, swans will become accustomed to being fed by humans, and may even make these offerings their primary food. Food given to swans should be broken into small pieces. The best food to feed them depends on the time of year. When it's cold, swans prefer vegetation, like spinach, alfalfa and broccoli. In the warmer months, when swans can find plants for themselves, they enjoy things such as air-popped popcorn, multigrain rice and legumes.

Young Diet

Young swans, called cygnets, have a more protein-rich diet than their parents. Often cygnets rely on insects and small crabs for their main source of food. After about a month, they will begin to eat more like an adult bird. They will start foraging for plants and grains, and leave behind consumption of all but the occasional insect.

Hazardous Foods

There are some foods that swans should not eat, and which humans often feed them. It is a very common activity for people, especially those with young children, to spend an afternoon feeding swans pieces of bread. This can give the birds stomach problems. Other foods that should not be given to swans include any baked or processed foods. Swans do best when given natural products that compare closely to their diet in the wild.

References

• Avianweb: Feeding Swans, Geese and Ducks
• Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Trumpeter Swan
• Avianweb: Swans