Trumpeter swan The tundra swan ("C. columbianus") more closely resembles the trumpeter, but is significantly smaller. The neck of a male trumpeter may be twice as long as the neck of a tundra swan. The tundra swan can be further distinguished by its yellow lores. However, some trumpeter swans have yellow lores; many of these individuals appear to be leucistic and have paler legs than typical trumpeters. Distinguishing tundra and trumpeter swans from a distance (when size is harder to gauge) can be challenging without direct comparison but it is possible thanks to the trumpeter's obviously longer neck (the great length of
Trumpeter (bird) ground. Trumpeters nest in a hole in a tree or in the crown of a palm tree. They lay 2 to 5 eggs with rough, white shells, averaging about . In the pale-winged trumpeter and the grey-winged trumpeter, groups of adults care for a single clutch. Trumpeters are often used as "guard dogs" because they call loudly when alarmed, become tame easily, and are believed to be adept at killing snakes. One source states their skill at hunting snakes as a fact, and the nineteenth-century botanist Richard Spruce gave an account of the friendliness and snake-killing prowess of a tame