Trumpeter swan was still capable of flight due to its bulk. The adult trumpeter swan is all white in plumage. Like mute swan cygnets, the cygnets of the trumpeter swan have light grey plumage and pinkish legs, and gain their white plumage after about a year. As with a whooper swan, this species has upright posture and generally swims with a straight neck. The trumpeter swan has a large, wedge-shaped black bill that can, in some cases, be minimally lined with salmon-pink coloration around the mouth. The bill, measuring , is up to twice the length of a Canada goose's ("Branta canadensis")
Trumpeter clock were very simple in design, producing a simple bugle call that is reproduced once for each hour. In the later years the musical abilities of the clocks greatly improved, and many examples were made to produce complex musical tunes. Although many different makers made the trumpeter clocks, Emilian Wehrle was without question the undisputed leader of trumpeter clock production and design. A trumpeter clock can be found in several different variations. The most common examples are known to collectors as a "blowers" or "German buglers". These examples use a modified cuckoo type movement that produces a simple trumpet like call.