The legs are gray-pink in color, though in some birds can appear yellowish gray to even black. The bill, measuring 10.5–12 cm (4.1–4.7 in), is up to twice the length of a Canada goose's ( Branta canadensis) bill and is the largest of any waterfowl. The trumpeter swan has a large, wedge-shaped black bill that can, in some cases, be minimally lined with salmon-pink coloration around the mouth. As with the whooper swan, this species has upright posture and generally swims with a straight neck. Like mute swan cygnets, the cygnets of the trumpeter swan have light grey plumage and pinkish legs, gaining their white plumage after about a year. The adult trumpeter swan's plumage is entirely white.
It is the second heaviest wild waterfowl ever found, as one mute swan was found to weigh a massive 23 kg (51 lb), but it was unclear whether the latter swan was still capable of flight because of its bulk. The largest known male trumpeter attained a length of 183 cm (6 ft 0 in), a wingspan of 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) and a weight of 17.2 kg (38 lb). The trumpeter swan's wingspan ranges from 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 1 in to 8 ft 2 in), with the wing chord measuring 60–68 cm (24–27 in). Alongside the mute swan ( Cygnus olor), Dalmatian pelican ( Pelecanus crispus), kori bustard ( Ardeotis kori), and Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus), it is one of a handful to weigh in excess of 10 kg (22 lb) between the sexes, and one survey of wintering trumpeters found it averaged second only to the condor in mean mass. It is one of the heaviest living birds or animals capable of flight, and, in terms of average mass, the heaviest flying bird in the world. Possibly due to seasonal variation based on food access and variability due to age, average weights in males have been reported to range from 10.9 to 12.7 kg (24 to 28 lb) and from 9.4 to 10.3 kg (21 to 23 lb) in females. The weight of adult birds is typically 7–13.6 kg (15–30 lb). Adults usually measure 138–165 cm (4 ft 6 in – 5 ft 5 in) long, though large males can exceed 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) in total length. The trumpeter swan is the largest extant species of waterfowl, and both the heaviest and longest native bird of North America. Plate 406 of the Birds of America by John James Audubon, depicting the trumpeter swan
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