Maltese Giant Swan

The name Maltese Giant Swan (Cygnus falconeri) is a bit of a misnomer because remains have also been found on the nearby island of Sicily. On Malta itself the bird is known as Ċinju ġgant, which not surprisingly means 'giant swan'.

Some scattered remains have been unearthed and the dimensions of the Maltese Giant Swan are estimeted to be well in excess of those of the still extant mute swan (Cygnus olor), one of the largest and heaviest birds in Europe. Compared to the mute swan, the Maltese Giant Swan possibly had a total bill-to-tail length of more than 200 centimeters (Mute swan: 160 centimeters), a wingspan of 300 centimeters (Mute swan: 240 centimeters) and a potential weight of 16 kilograms (Mute swan: 10 kilograms).

The Maltese Giant Swans may be as large as or even larger than the Dwarf Elephants that roamed several islands in the Mediterranean basin.

Due to its size and lack of predators, some biologists think that it might have been flightless. This species lived during the Middle Pleistocene, a period that ran from 770,000 years ago until 126,000 years ago.

It became already extinct before human activity in the region could interfere with its demise, so its disappearance is thought to have resulted from extreme climate fluctuations or the arrival of new predators and competitors.

Its bones are on display at the Għar Dalam museum in Birżebbuġa (Malta).