Their performance is not exactly musical! But it’s a deeply resonant sound all the same, which can make the hairs on the back ...

Some sounds feel as though they can transport us back in time. Listening to whooper swans calling out over a wetland at the break of day, I imagine the same chorus of loud, trumpeting calls echoing ...

MONROE — Looking for drama, romance and a little bit of mystery this Valentine’s Day? Washington’s wintering swans have got you covered. The massive white birds — tundra, trumpeter and at least one ...

This story appears in the December 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine. From the swirl of its initial letter to its sighing vowel and feather-soft final consonant, the very word—"swan"—suggests ...