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Trumpeter swan

Cygnus buccinator · Swans · Waterfowl · Migratory game birds

Trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator): Very large, all-white swan with a massive all-black bill. Lacks a yellow spot in front of the eye. Do not shoot unless you are certain of the species. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Trumpeter swan head and bill in side profile
Adobe Stock · Standard License (asset 2155922940)
Scientific name
Cygnus buccinator
Family
Anatidae
Range
Alaska, northwestern Canada and the northwestern US, with reintroduced populations in the Great Lakes region including Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
Biology

How to identify it

Very large, all-white swan with a massive all-black bill. [1]

Lacks a yellow spot in front of the eye. [1]

Immatures are darker than adults. [1]

Compared with the tundra swan: Tundra swan is smaller, usually has a yellow spot before the eye and gives a higher call. [1]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Safety Swans are hard to tell apart at hunting distance, and a missing yellow spot is not proof. Where a swan season is open, confirm the species before you shoot; if you are not certain, do not shoot.[1]
  • Identification Do not identify Trumpeter swan from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Large, shallow, vegetated freshwater ponds and wide, slow rivers; also lakes and winter bays. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Bugling ko-hoh call, lower than the tundra swan's. [1]

Feeds on submerged plants by reaching or up-ending; occasionally feeds on land in winter. [1]

Southern populations are mostly non-migratory; northern birds move south in late fall as water freezes, flying low in V formations. [1]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Conservation and protection

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Alaska, northwestern Canada and the northwestern US, with reintroduced populations in the Great Lakes region including Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society