Tour Scotland May 4K travel video of a Swan with Cygnets on a Spring visit and trip to Gannochy in Perth, Perthshire. Shot this video at the corner of Annat Road and Dupplin Road. A male swan is called a Cob. The female is called a Pen and the young of the year are called cygnets, pronounced signets. Swans form very strong pair bonds with their mate. The pair will remain together under most circumstances. If one of the pair dies, the remaining mate will often find a new mate. Sometimes, if a pair is unsuccessful in breeding for several years, they may find new mates. For the most part, swan pairs are very loyal to each other. Swans lay, on the average, three to eight eggs. Eggs are typically laid in April or early May, with hatching sometime between May to mid to late June, depending on the geographic location and warming weather. One egg is laid every other day until the clutch is complete. The Pen does not begin incubating until her clutch is complete so that all cygnets will hatch within 24 hours of each other. Only one clutch of eggs is laid per year, although if a nest is destroyed, the pair may try to breed again, usually not successfully. The incubation period is approximately 34 days. The swans build their nests out of stems and leaves. Swan cygnets learn to fly when they are about 3 to 4 months old. The mute swan is a very large white waterbird. It has a long S shaped neck and an orange bill with a black base and a black knob. It flies with its neck extended and regular, slow wingbeats. Some mute swans stay in their territories all year, while others move short distances and form winter flocks. In cold weather, some birds arrive from Europe into eastern England. The mute swan breeds across most of the United Kingdom, other than in northern Scotland, mid Wales and the moors of south east England. It's possible to see them anywhere there is a shallow lake, or a slow-flowing rivers, even in urban areas and parks. The name mute derives from it being less vocal than other swan species All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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