Whooper Swan

The Whooper Swan is a very large white waterbird with a long, straight neck and a wedge-shaped yellow-and-black bill. The yellow patch extends forward in a pointed shape, distinguishing it from the smaller Tundra Swan's usually shorter yellow area. Adults are entirely white, whereas juveniles are grey-brown with pinkish bills. Its deep, resonant bugling calls carry far across open wetlands (Wikipedia, general species account).

Whooper Swans feed by dipping and upending for aquatic vegetation, roots and tubers, and also graze on grass or waste grain in fields. Pairs build a large mound nest beside shallow water and often remain together for years. Northern breeders migrate in family groups to ice-free wintering grounds; in Japan they gather on lakes, rivers, marshes and agricultural land, especially in northern regions (Wikipedia, general species account).