Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

While out at Esquimalt Lagoon the other day I noticed an impressively big swan among the other swans and ducks along the shoreline of the lagoon. It wasn't until I got home and had a good look at the photos I'd taken that I realized that this bird was not just bigger but was different in other ways from the Mute Swans that are usually seen around the lagoon. The bird above is a Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), the largest native North American bird. It's only slightly larger than the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) but the latter is an introduced species that has escaped captivity and naturalized itself. I've included a photo of a Mute Swan on the left to show the differences in bill color and shape.