Swans feed by dabbling on the surface of the water, or on the bottom of shallow streams and ponds with their short flat bills. Their long necks allow them to feed in deeper water. The flocks fly in a v-shape formation or in an oblique line. These birds are monogamous. If a mate should die the other often remains alone for the rest of its life.
Pairs normally swim in close proximity, and frequently face each other.
The nest is quite large, approximately 10 feet in diameter and 40 inches high, constructed primarily from driedgrasses. Mute swans are herbivorous, eating vegetables, water weeds and seeds. In captivity they eat a mixture of commercial poultry pellets, water fowl food and greens. The incubation period is from 35 to 40 days. The young are colored pale gray and do not mature until the fourth year, when they are all white.