Swans (lat. Cygnus) are a genus of birds of the order Anseriformes, the family Anatidae.
The modern name of the bird is completely consonant with the Old Slavic word for “swan”. The root leb is related to the Latin alb, meaning "white", so the bird gets its name from its white plumage.
Appearance
The swan is the largest waterfowl. Adults have a body length of 1.2 to 1.8 m, with a weight of 6 to 12 kg. The span of strong and wide wings can reach 2-2.5 m.
The long, graceful neck in some species is held vertically, in others it is curved like the letter S. The head is small, ending in a strong beak, red, black or yellow color. Some species are endowed with a knobby growth at the base of the beak.
The dense, elongated body ends in a short tail, above which there is a special gland that secretes fat to lubricate the plumage. Short, black, webbed feet are located closer to the tail, which allows the swan to easily maneuver in the water.
Thanks to the thick downy layer, the plumage is lush and soft. With the exception of the black and black-necked swan, the color of the birds is uniform, white.
Swans are endowed with powerful flight muscles, which allow them to cover enormous distances when flying south. Birds are considered record holders for flight altitude: according to pilots, a whooper swan was spotted at an altitude of over 8 km.
Habitat and habitat features
Swans are widespread in Eurasia, both American continents, and also in Australia. The southern species lead a sedentary lifestyle, while the northern ones winter in Asia and the Mediterranean countries.
Depending on their habitat, swans inhabit the shores of a variety of water bodies: rivers, lakes, ponds, tropical swamps, and also live in sea lagoons and estuaries.
Nutrition and reproduction
The birds obtain their main food by lowering their necks deep into the water, but often graze on the shore. The plant diet consists of grasses, seeds, roots of aquatic plants, leaves of trees growing near water.
From animal food, they eat everything that can be found in shallow water: small fish, worms, insects and their larvae, shells, mollusks and frogs.
The mating season in northern species occurs at the beginning of spring and begins a week after migration. Southern species breed during the rainy season.
Swans form a couple and remain faithful to their partner all their lives. Nests, up to 3 m in diameter, are made of grass and reeds. The clutch contains 3-8 eggs, incubation lasts about 40 days. All this time, the male guards the nest and his territory.
Swan chicks dry themselves using their mother's back. 
In all types of swans, chicks are born covered with gray down and from the first days of life they are able to independently obtain food under the supervision of their parents. After the first molt, feathers appear and the chicks begin to fly.
The lifespan of a swan is 25-30 years.
Types of swans
The modern classification includes only 7 species of swans.
Black swan (lat. Cygnus atratus) - the body of an adult reaches a length of 110-140 cm, with a weight of 4-8 kg. Due to the presence of 31 cervical vertebrae, the species is distinguished by the longest neck among swans. The edges of the wings are covered with curly feathers.
The black swan lives in Australia, New Zealand and the island of Tasmania. It prefers shallow fresh water bodies and leads a sedentary lifestyle, flying no further than 100 km from its place of birth.
Black-necked swan (lat. Cygnus melancoryphus) - representatives of the species grow up to 110-140 cm and have a body weight of 3.5-6.5 kg, with males being much larger than females. The neck and head are painted black, the body is snow-white. The gray beak has a characteristic red growth at the base.
A pair of black-necked swans. 
During the nesting season they live in the south South America, in winter they fly to Brazil and Paraguay.
Mute swan (lat. Cygnus olor) - the swan got its name due to the hissing sound made when dissatisfied.
Mute swan with chick. 
Representatives of the species are distinguished by a long body up to 180 cm and a very long, curved neck. Females weigh up to 6 kg, males up to 13, sometimes up to 20 kg.
The northern part of Europe and Asia is considered the homeland of the mute swan. The species was introduced to Australia and the American continents, where it safely exists to this day.
Trumpeter swan (lat. Cygnus buccinator) - the special structure of the larynx and trachea allows the swan to make characteristic trumpet sounds. The body length is 150-180 cm, and the weight is 10-12 kg. Outwardly similar to the whooper swan, but has a completely black beak.
The general population lives in the vast bodies of water of the North American tundra. The main colony resides permanently in the heart of North America; the inhabitants of Alaska migrate to the southeastern part of the continent.
American (American tundra) swan
American (American tundra) swan (lat. Cygnus columbianus) - a small representative of swans northern hemisphere grows up to 115-146 cm, has a weight of 4-9 kg and a wingspan of up to 2 m. Representatives of the species resemble a whooper swan, they are distinguished by a short neck and orange stripes on a black beak.
The range covers the most remote areas of the North American tundra and forest-tundra. The winter is spent off the coast of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. In Russia they are found in Chukotka, Anadyr and the Commander Archipelago.
Small (tundra) swan
Small (tundra) swan (lat. Cygnus bewickii) - the species is similar to the whooper, but much smaller in size. The body length is 115-127 cm, and the weight is 5-6 kg. The voice, similar to the voice of a whooper, sounds quieter and lower.
The habitat is distributed only in Russia. The western population is found from the Kola Peninsula, to Taimyr and Yamal, and flies to France and the Netherlands for the winter. The eastern colony inhabits the tundra zone from the Lena River to the north of Chukotka, wintering in Japan, China and Korea.
Whooper swan (lat. Cygnus cygnus) - large individuals have a body weight of up to 10 kg, females and males are practically the same in appearance. The neck is held straight, the white color acquires at the 3rd year of life. The species is distinguished by a bright yellow beak with a black tip.
Breeding populations extend north through the Scandinavian countries to Chukotka and Sakhalin. The southern part of the population lives in reservoirs of Mongolia and Japan. The winter is spent in the Mediterranean, Caspian Seas, China, India and Australia.
Some colonies remain to winter in flowing and partially frozen water bodies of Eurasia.
In many cultures, the graceful bird symbolizes marital fidelity, grace, beauty and nobility. Since ancient times, the swan has been considered an impregnable and proud bird, worthy of reverence and admiration: for the Yakuts, the swan is a totem animal, the Ainu believed that man descended from the swan.
Swans and humans: black and white. 
The whooper swan is the national bird of Finland, and the mute swan is especially revered in Denmark. The black swan adorns the emblem of Western Australia.
Swan. 
Lonely swan. Belarus, Ivyevsky district, near the village of Zhemyslavl. 
Due to the ruthless extermination of birds for the sake of valuable fluff and delicious meat, hunting for endangered subspecies is prohibited. Swans receive conservation status, and keeping them in captivity and semi-captivity increases the population size.
Learn to draw a swan with a pencil step by step. Also in the article there are diagrams on how to draw the Swan Princess from a fairy tale.
There are animals that attract people with their beauty, grace, and unique charm. Among them are swans. These are very beautiful birds, and they appear in many fairy tales and other works, so it would be good to learn how to draw them.
How to draw a swan step by step with a pencil for beginners?
For those who are just trying their hand at fine arts, it is worth advising you to first look at images of a swan, its proportions, how it folds its wings and floats smoothly in the water, what kind of head it has and what color its beak and entire head are.
IMPORTANT: It’s also worth trying to draw twos, just stretching them out more.
Swan in pencil: stage 1. 
Swan in pencil: stage 2. 
Swan in pencil: stage 3. 
Pencil drawing of a swan. After such training, you can start drawing the outlines of the bird.
- First, a drawing of the head and a beautifully rounded and slightly elongated neck is made, it was not for nothing that there was training in drawing twos.
- A line similar to a tick is immediately made from the bottom line of the neck to indicate the body.
- Now you can draw the second line of the neck and outline the head.
- The point from which the beak will begin is marked on the head. From the point you need to draw a line indicating the symmetry of the future beak.
- The next stage is the torso. Where the check mark was, this will be part of it, and another arc is drawn under it at a smaller angle. It will indicate the wing.
- The lower part of the body is slightly extended.
- Now you can finish drawing the feathers on the wing and the bottom of the body. The lower back part of the body should be pointed.
- The next stage is the details: eyes, beak. The eye is drawn and from it a beautiful eyebrow. You need to try not to have the beak too long or too short. The edges of the beak are slightly shaded.
- The last stage is drawing three rows of feathers on the body.
VIDEO: How to draw a swan?
How to draw a swan step by step for children?
- It is best for children to start drawing with a small circle indicating the bird’s head, a rounded smooth elongated neck and an oval-shaped body.
- After the shapes of the bird are geometrically marked, you can complete the neck by adding a second line, and the body by adding feathers protruding from the oval.
- The next stage is detailing the eyes and beak, as well as detailing the feathers on the body and a small tail.
VIDEO: Learn to draw a swan
Drawing swan wings
In order for the swan's wings to be visible in all their glory, he needs to be placed in a standing position. Let him spread his wings.
- As always, it’s better to start by marking the contours. This is a small circle for the head, a gracefully curved line for the neck and an oval for the body.
- You need to draw two curved lines to the body - future wings.
- Now comes the detailing of the wings. First, large feathers are drawn on them. To do this, uneven curves are made from below.
- You can move on to the small feathers on the surface of the wing.
- Next will be the stage of shading parts of the wings and finishing the drawing of the entire swan.
- Finish the drawing with drawing and detailing complete image birds.
Drawing of a swan with open wings: stages 1-2. 
Drawing of a swan with open wings: stages 3-4. 
Drawing of a swan with open wings. How to draw a swan on a lake?
Let the drawn swan be in its natural environment - the surface of the water. To do this, small waves are made around the bird’s figure. Children will draw them with pleasure.
IMPORTANT: You can also draw not one, but two swans on the lake, because it is known that they create pairs and live together all their lives. It’s not for nothing that two swans are a symbol of love and a happy family life.
- You can start such a drawing with a conventional image of a heart, so the swans seem to cling to each other with their beaks, and their curved necks seem to form an image of the heart.
- Next, following the previously described steps, both swans are drawn symmetrically to each other.
- After this, a surface of water is created around them, a lake where they live.
Swan on the water: diagram 1. 
Swan on the water: diagram 2. How to draw a swan princess with a pencil step by step?
The Swan Princess from “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” is not just a beautiful princess girl. It needs to be made graceful and magical, without forgetting about the fairy-tale-historical details:
- long sundress
- long braid
- crown on my head
Yes, in the fairy tale, the Swan Princess had a star burning in her forehead!
- The Swan Princess should have swan wings and a flexible girl's figure. Therefore, the drawing should begin with the outlines of the head, a curved line indicating the future figure of the princess, and lines indicating the hands.
- We draw the princess's sundress, focusing on the original line. The princess's sundress is long and flared at the bottom.
- Draw her face and star. You can draw the hair and crown right away.
- The most difficult stage in drawing with the Swan Princess is her wing hands. They are beautifully curved and flexible. Wings are added to the hands; they are positioned as if in the background of the hands. The wings should have several rows of feathers.
- The last stage is detailing the face, hair, crown, and decorations on the sundress.
- You can complete the drawing of the Swan Princess by drawing around her the curls of the crests of the waves from which she emerges.
The Swan Princess: stages 1-2. 
The Swan Princess: stages 3-4. 
The Swan Princess: stages 5-6. 
The Swan Princess: stages 7-8. 
The Swan Princess: stages 9-10. 
The princess is a swan. VIDEO: LET'S DRAW! "The Swan Princess"
Swan on the water, drawn in pencil.
VIDEO: Drawing lessons. Swan Princess
Zoya Reasonable
Dear friends, good day.
Situations happen to us when children ask you for something, but you don’t know how to do it, so you have to search, find, learn.
So my children asked me to teach them how to draw a swan. This most beautiful and graceful bird always arouses interest, and many want to understand how to draw it.
I also tried to draw a swan and bring to your attention a master class.
Maybe my master class will be useful to some of you.
Necessary materials:
Paper
Simple pencil
Multi-colored pencils, paints and markers
We make light strokes with a pencil, thus outlining the outline of the bird’s head.
The swan is a graceful bird, so the width of the neck should match the head.
In no case should it be made too wide or too narrow.
Draw a wing to the swan's neck.
Draw the tail.
We denote water with thin lines.
Let's draw a beak to the head. Draw the eye and the mask that connects the beak and the eye.
We draw feathers on the tail and wing of the swan.
To finish the drawing and for our bird to shine in all its glory, you need to color it with colored pencils or felt-tip pens. In my case, I used felt-tip pens and a simple pencil.
We outline the swan around the office with a black felt-tip pen, making notches.
We will also color the swan's eye and mask with a black felt-tip pen so that the eye stands out, leaving a small space without coloring.
To color the swan's beak we will use an orange marker.
In some places we apply strokes to the swan's feathers with a simple pencil.
Color the water with a blue felt-tip pen.
When coloring a swan you can use watercolor paints or gouache.
Dear friends, thank you for your attention and support!
Publications on the topic:
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