The small swan - Cygnus bewickii - is a bird with a medium body size. The weight of an adult bird is approximately 5-6 kg. An adult bird has pure white plumage, while a young bird has pale gray plumage. The paws of the small swan are black. The body is elongated, the neck is very long. The bird's head is directed upward, its beak is held horizontally. The wings are pressed tightly to the body. Wingspan 180 – 211 cm.

The little swan is very similar to the whooper swan. But there are signs by which these birds can be distinguished. First of all, this is the color of the beak. The border of yellow and black colors on the beak goes at a right angle to the plane of the beak, and not at a sharp angle, like in the whooper. The yellow color on the beak is less developed than the latter, and is located in the form of two spots at the base of the beak. The small swan has a more sonorous and harsh voice, which does not have trumpet sounds. It sounds like "tong, bung". In a flock, birds make noise, talking with a characteristic hooting - “gook-gook” or “kurru”.

The little swan lives mainly in sedge and moss-lichen tundra with numerous lakes and streams. It is rarely found in shrub tundras. For the nest, the bird chooses a small dry hill, often a hummock, in completely open areas of the tundra or on the banks of reservoirs. In areas of high abundance, individual pairs make nests at a distance of 500 - 700 m, but more often - several kilometers from one another. In some cases, the old nest is used for several years, in others, a new one is built at a distance of 50 - 500 m from the old one.

According to the observations of ornithologists, it is noted that the birds of the territory of our region (from the north of Western Siberia) fly along the Ural ridge for wintering in the Caspian region.

The small swan has two clearly distinct populations - western and eastern. The western (European) population, living west of the Urals, numbers 18,000 birds, the eastern – about 30,000 birds, and approximately 7,500 more birds live in the tundra of Western and Central Siberia, that is, in our district.

The first swans arrive at the nesting site when the average air temperature is -20 C, but can drop to -200 C. But this temperature regime does not really frighten them. They begin to occupy nesting sites as soon as the first thawed patches appear. Little swans build their nests from various plant debris. They do not carry material for construction, but build a nest where there is enough of it. The construction process itself is also interesting. First, the couple chooses a place for a nest. Then, standing with his back to this place, the male takes a beak full of plant debris and throws them back with short sharp movements. A small mound gradually grows, from which the female forms a nest, placing plant debris more compactly and crushing it with her paws and chest. The pair builds its nest during the entire incubation period. By the end of incubation, the one-year-old nest becomes 4-5 times more massive than at the beginning.

Small storks begin to breed at the age of three to four years. Bird pairs last a long time and are broken up only when one of the partners dies. A small swan's clutch contains from 2 to 6, most often 4 eggs. In years with favorable weather conditions, up to 90% of nesting birds successfully hatch chicks. In unfavorable years, up to 45% of the total number of birds find themselves without offspring. Some of them die clutches or broods, while most do not reproduce at all. It is interesting that not only females, but also males take an active part in incubating eggs, which is not typical for other bird species. The little swan does not leave the nest, so the eggs are constantly heated. The chicks hatch within 30 days after the completion of the laying.

Chicks immediately after birth are able to swim and follow their parents. By the age of one month, young birds reach 1.5 - 2 kg. At this time, they experience intensive plumage growth. At the age of 45 - 50 days, young birds rise to the wing.

The little swan feeds on aquatic and terrestrial herbaceous plants. Favorite food is tubers, roots, and rhizomes of aquatic plants. Sometimes eats small fish. Swans plunge their necks into the water and turn them like ducks. Thanks to their long necks, they can forage from depths of up to 1 meter, but more often feed in shallow water.

Often in the spring, birds nibble shoots of cotton grass, sedges, and horsetails.

The small swan has no natural enemies. An adult swan can kill an arctic fox, a fox, or a dog with a blow of its wing. But man does not have a very favorable influence on the swan.

Due to the growth of economic development of territories in the nesting areas of the species (fishing, geological exploration and other work), the factor of disturbance has increased and direct persecution of birds has become more frequent.

The small swan is listed in the Red Book of Ugra. Harvesting of the species is prohibited. The species is listed in Appendix II to the CITES Convention, as well as in the Appendix to the Soviet-Japanese Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Birds. In some areas of the country, hunting reserves have been created to protect this species of birds.

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