| Black Swan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Cygnus |
| Species: | Cygnus atratus |
The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large bird in the family Anatidae.
It was discovered in 1698, and was spotted several times by James Cook along the Australian coast.
Description[]
The Black Swan is about 150 cm long. Its plumage is almost entirely smoky black, except for the remiges, which are white. The legs and feet are grey, the eyes orange, and the bill red with a whitish tip. It is hardly sexually dimorphic, with the male displaying a knob at the base of the bill during the breeding season. Compared to other members of the same genus, it has a more slender body with a longer, thinner neck and a smaller head.
Behaviour[]
Black Swans move in small flocks, flying in formation with its neck extended. They are the least territorial of swans and sometimes nest in colonies. Black Swans are mostly sedentary but nomadic when food is scarce. They feed at dusk and travel at night, calling as they fly, but are most active during the day.
Feeding[]
Its diet includes small fish, aquatic plants, invertebrates, seeds, and grass. It feeds in the water as well as on the ground.
Breeding[]
The Black Swan is a monogamous bird that breeds from August to January, building a branch nest on small islands or directly in the water, anchored to the stems of water plants. The female lays 4-7 whitish or greenish eggs and incubates them for about 35 days whilst the male, who becomes particularly aggressive and protective during this period, feeds her and guards the territory. The chicks, initially covered in blackish down, are already able to swim on the first day of their life. As they grow, the will become grey and eventually black once they reach maturity.
Distribution and habitat[]
Native to mainland Australia and Tasmania, the Black Swan was nearly wiped out due to over-hunting when these regions were colonized. Today, it is protected and has been reintroduced in the areas from which it had disappeared. It has also been introduced to some areas of America and Eurasia. It inhabits all kinds of freshwater habitats with vegetation.
Relationship With Humans[]
Conservation[]
The Black Swan is protected in New South Wales, Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (s.5). In all states and territories of Australia, the Black Swan is fully protected and must not be shot. Populations are steady and numbers are from thousands up to tens of thousands in New South Wales. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Australian Culture[]
Due to the contrast between the white swans of Europe, the Black Swan was a literary and artistic image for Europeans even before their discovery of the species.
Since colonies landed in Australia in the eighteenth century, the Black Swans' has often been equated with antipodean identity, with the contrast to the white swans of the Northern Hemisphere indicating 'Australianness'. The Black Swan is featured on the flag, is the state bird, and is the state emblem of Western Australia; it also appears in the Coat of Arms and other iconography of the state's institutions. The Black Swan was the sole postage stamp design of Western Australia from 1854 to 1902.
Gallery[]
