Sunday, February 5, 2012

Plumage Changes - IV

Some plumage changes aren't as dramatic and as colorful. Take the Tundra Swan. Immature Tundra Swans are a light gray, it is not until their second winter molt that their plumage turns white as in the adult. They mate in early spring and breed in the Arctic and Subarctic tundra where they inhabit shallow pools, lakes, and rivers. They are monogamous birds (until one partner dies). They migrate south for the winter. In the photo below you see both adult and juvenile in their wintering ground of Western Washington. Apparently it was the juveniles first winter.


Adult Tundra Swan with Juvenile
Photo taken on Fir Island, Washington

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