It takes a good eye to tell the difference between Bewick's swans and whooper swans. Bewick's are smaller and their black beaks sport a small yellow blob, rather than the whooper's extended yellow wedge. In fact these yellow and black beak patterns have been extensively studied and illustrated over the years and are unique to each swan, identifying individual birds.

They breed in the cold Arctic tundra of northern Russia. The western population winters in northern Europe, with the British Isles boasting some sizeable and surprisingly musical flocks. The eastern population heads towards China and Japan for the winter season. Bewick's are actually a subspecies of the tundra swan and the smallest swan in Europe.

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