The whooper swan, like its onomatopoeic cousins ... with its effortless glide on the mirror of a lake and lovely, unfurling flight, signaled evanescence and evoked immortal longings.

See how white shows up in the unexpected and the everyday in this gallery. Here, whooper swans take flight above a frozen landscape in Japan. The swans take off mostly on water, but can also do so ...

Young whooper swans practice flying in Rongcheng, Shandong province, to prepare for their upcoming long-distance migration. [Photo by Li Xinjun/For chinadaily.com.cn] Young whooper swans have ...

The Saigawa River, which runs through the city, is a well-known wintering site for whooper swans migrating from Siberia. In peak years, more than 1,000 swans gather to rest in the area.