As a youngster you may have been warned to keep away from swans, because they are strong enough to break someone’s arm. And many adults can still be wary around swans, carrying the fear that with one mighty swoosh of a swan’s wings they’ll end up with a limb in a cast.
But does this warning have any truth in it? Or is it just an old wives tale recounted to keep prying hands away from these magnificent creatures.
Swans are big birds. The mute swan, the only permanent resident swan in the UK, is the largest of all waterfowl weighing over 11 kg and with a wingspan of over 2 metres. Despite their bulk, they can fly at speeds of up 13 km/h and run at up to 35 km/h. By contrast, a mute swan’s typical swimming speed is just 2.5 km/h.
Swans can be aggressive particularly when defending their nests during breeding season. If you approach a swan in springtime, it may hiss and flap its wings at you and although they have been known to attack people using rivers, such as anglers and rowers, reports of serious injuries are rare.
Although you may be left with some nasty bruising if a swan decides that you’re a threat, they are not usually violent enough to break a human bone.
Before going into full attack mode, a swan will raise its neck as a warning that it is feeling threatened. If that doesn’t cause a potential predator or rival swan encroaching on its territory to back off, it will raise its wings in a display known as ‘busking’. It then draws its neck back and down which not only protects the neck but also increases its power through the water.
While keeping its head low under its wings, it will lunge forward, propelling itself through the water with both feet at considerable speed. Swans will also use the busking posture to allow the wind to assist them as they glide, sometimes called wind-surfing.
On land, an attacking swan will adopt a similar pose with its wings held high and its neck pushed down. It can seem rather ungainly as it runs along flapping its wings, hissing, and snorting, and although it can look very intimidating, you’re unlikely to end up with a broken bone.
This is because, like all birds that fly, swans’ bones are very light, and mostly hollow. The bones in their wings are also much smaller and thinner than human bones. Not only does this enable them to take flight, but also keeps them buoyant so they sit high up in the water and means they are more hydrodynamically efficient.
If a swan was to give you a thump hard enough to break your arm, it’s more than likely to injure itself instead.
When a swan physically attacks it strikes with bony spurs in its wings accompanied by biting. It may grab smaller waterfowl with its beak and drag or throw them away from its nest and cygnets. And although there have been reports of swans killing dogs which they have perceived as threats, it is more common for dogs to attack and kill swans.
To prevent a swan attack our advice is to stay well away from nesting sites during breeding season which is between late April and early June. It is illegal to disturb any birds when they are nesting so if you enjoy wild swimming or other river sports ensure you keep an eye out for nesting pairs and steer well clear of them.
For the rest of the year keep dogs on leads and under control when they are near any waterfowl, and make sure small children understand that swans are not birds to be petted. If you feed the ducks and swans at your local pond, take care as swans can sometimes become aggressive when demanding food.
In theory, you could end up with a broken arm or leg after being attacked by a swan if you fell over during the attack. But a swan is unable to break your bones just with a blow from its wings.
Despite this, we have included swans in our list of the ten most dangerous birds in the world, due to at least one reported incident in which a swan killed a man indirectly.
