Identification - It is a medium-size, all-white swan with black bill and feet. Occasionally a rust-colored stain can be seen on the head and neck. Usually the bill has a small yellow spot just in front of each eye, but it may be absent. The bill is slightly concave on the upper surface, unlike the straight bill of the Trumpeter Swan. Sexes are similar in appearance.
Morsels - There may be more truth than legend to the "Swan Song". More than one observer has heard dying Tundra Swans utter a "song" unlike that of any normal call, although one observer thought the vocalizations that precede a Tundra Swan's takeoff, "one of the most beautiful utterances of waterfowl--a melodious, soft, muted series of notes," is likely the swan song of legend.
