Birds · Anseriformes · Anatidae

Black Swan

Cygnus atratus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A swan with entirely black plumage apart from the flight feathers, which are white and show only in flight. The bill is red and the neck longer than that of any other swan. The cygnet hatches covered in greyish down and its first plumage is greyish brown; it reaches the typical black at a year old and the bill takes on its colour at five months.

Weight

5.1 kg – 6.2 kg

Size

1.3 m – 1.5 m

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

Concentrations of up to 70,000 individuals have been estimated at Lake Ellesmere, New Zealand

FreshwaterHerbivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Freshwater

2countries 23parks42same family

Fun facts

GeneralIts discovery by Europeans in 1697 gave rise to the phrase black swan for the improbable.
Its discovery in 1697 by Willem de Vlamingh's expedition caused a stir in Europe: until then it had been taken for granted that all swans were white, and that is where the expression "black swan" for the improbable comes from.
It is monogamous for life, but around a third of the young are not the pair's own: some males steal nests or form temporary trios with females in order to get eggs and then drive them off.
If an egg rolls out of the nest, both sexes retrieve it with their neck; in other species only the female does.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Lakes, brackish lagoons and wetlands
Sexual maturity: They are adult at two years; they fledge at six months
Gestation / incubation: 35-45 days, with both sexes incubating, though females usually do so at night
Litter / clutch size: 3-8 pale green eggs, usually 5-6, exceptionally up to 10. Nests are almost a metre across and very close to one another. The chicks are cared for by their parents for about 9 months

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; Wikipedia (Cygnus atratus); Birds Colombia; Zoobotánico de Jerez; Animalia.bio; Latham 1790