Black swans use calls and visual signals to communicate. They have advertisment calls used in territorial defense and specific calls used in Triumph Ceremonies. They have a high pitched, weak voice. They also use visual displays to communicate such as raising their shoulders or flapping their wings to threaten predators or other swans in their territory.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Other Communication Modes: duets
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Currently, black swans are not suffering from population declines. Populations range from the thousands up to tens of thousands in New South Wales.
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Black swans are common crop pests, either destroying vegetation or uprooting it. In order to help control black swan populations, a hunting season has been established in some areas.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Humans benefit from black swans because they eat their eggs and keep them as pets. They are also popular among birdwatchers.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food ; ecotourism
Black swans are important members of thier eosystem both as a predator and as prey for other species.
Cygnus atratus eats sub-aquatic foliage that it can reach under water using its long neck. It is herbivorous, eating vegetation and plants either in the water or on land in pastures or on farm land. Some common aquatic plants that they feed on are: Typha, Potamogeton, Myriophyllum, Ruppia and algae. Occasionally they also eat insects.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: leaves; algae
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Cygnus atratus, commonly known as black swans, are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and have been introduced to New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Black swans are found mainly in the wetlands of southern Australia and tend to avoid the northern tropics. They can also be found in across the rest of southern Australia, and in the southeast of Tasmania. After being introduced to Europe as pets, they can now be found there in the wild.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Introduced ); australian (Native ); oceanic islands (Introduced )
Black swans live in lakes, rivers and swampland, which can be fresh, salt or brackish water. They prefer habitats with aquatic vegetation. While their natural habitat is aquatic they are sometimes found in terrestrial areas such as dry pastures or flooded fields when food is scarce.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; coastal ; brackish water
Wetlands: swamp
Other Habitat Features: agricultural ; riparian ; estuarine
Black swans have been known to live for forty years in the wild.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 40 (high) years.
Swans are the largest of all waterfowl. Black swans' closest relatives are mute swans (Cygnus olor). Cygnus atratus has the classical swan look with a long arched neck and raised eyebrows. As the name implies they are mostly black. Some of the wing feathers are white. They also have reddish or pinkish irises and richly colored red bills with a white line. The juveniles are greyish brown with light tipped feathers and a lighter colored bill. As with many birds, there is sexual dimorphism where the male (called a "cob") is slightly larger than the female (called a "pen").
When they are fully grown they have a length of 110 to 140 cm and weigh between 3700 to 8750 g. The wingspan ranges between 160 to 200 cm.
Range mass: 3700 to 8700 g.
Range length: 1.1 to 1.4 m.
Range wingspan: 160 to 200 cm.
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Black swans flap their wings which produce loud noises and threaten predators with their necks erect and bills pointed down. Eggs are taken by Australian ravens, common rats and golden-bellied water rats, swamp harriers, white-bellied sea eagles, and other hawks. Fledglings are preyed on by swamp harriers, white-bellied sea eagles, quolls, golden-bellied water rats, and sometimes gulls and terns.
Known Predators:
Black swans are monogamous and often have the same mate for life. They are territorial and stay in solitary pairs when mating but are known to occasionally mate in colonies. The threatening behavior of black swans is similar to mute swans; they both flap and wave their wings with two or three strokes followed by a call. However, the wings of black swans make a louder sound than mute swans. Also the standing stance is different; black swans hold their necks erect with a downward point of the bill and ruffled feathers.
One particularly interesting thing about the courting behavior of black swans is the "Triumph Ceremony". It is used to strengthen pair-bonds between mates, between parents and cygnets (baby swans), and for threatening territorial displays. The male swan approaches the female swan with wings and chin lifted, calling repeatedly. Then the female returns the same call. They then dip their heads alternating with erect postures. After this the birds call with their necks outstretched and bills pointed upward; then they hold their necks at a forty five degree angle and point their bills downward and at a right angle, they proceed to swim in a circle. These ceremonies are primarily initated by the male and tend to increase in frequency when there are more swans around.
Mating System: monogamous
The breeding season is from February through September. Usually the female (occasionally the male) makes a nest of sticks, dead leaves and debris into a floating mound on top of the water. Each female may lay between 5 to 6 eggs, the eggs are laid one day apart. There is a 35 to 48 day incubation period which begins when all the eggs have been laid. Males are known to help with incubation. Chicks are precocial but are brooded on the nest for 2 to 3 weeks after hatching. They fledge from 150 to 170 days after hatching. They remain in family groups for about 9 months and are able to fly at around 6 months old. The chicks are sexually mature in 18 to 36 months. Young black swans join juvenile flocks for one to two years before they begin breeding.
Breeding interval: Black swans can breed repeatedly throughout the breeding season.
Breeding season: The breeding season is from February through September.
Range eggs per season: 5 to 6.
Range time to hatching: 35 to 48 days.
Range fledging age: 150 to 170 days.
Average time to independence: 12 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 18 to 36 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 18 to 36 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
Both male and female black swans incubate the eggs. Chicks are precocial and can swim and feed soon after hatching. They may ride on their parents' backs when they venture into deep water. The chicks can fly in 2 months, but they remain in the family group until the next breeding season. Juvenile black swans often form flocks until they find a mate.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; precocial ; pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Male, Female)
The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent on climatic conditions. It is a large bird with black plumage and a red bill. It is a monogamous breeder, with both partners sharing incubation and cygnet-rearing duties.
The black swan was introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s, but has managed to escape and form stable populations. Described scientifically by English naturalist John Latham in 1790, the black swan was formerly placed into a monotypic genus, Chenopis. Black swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands.[2] It is a popular bird in zoological gardens and bird collections, and escapees are sometimes seen outside their natural range.
This bird is a regional symbol of both Western Australia, where it is native, and the English town of Dawlish, where it is an introduced species.[3]
Black swans are black-feathered birds, with white flight feathers. The bill is bright red, with a pale bar and tip; and legs and feet are greyish-black. Cobs (males) are slightly larger than pens (females), with a longer and straighter bill. Cygnets (immature birds) are a greyish-brown with pale-edged feathers.[2]
Mature black swans measure between 110 and 142 centimetres (43 and 56 in) in length and weigh 3.7–9 kilograms (8.2–19.8 lb). Their wing span is between 1.6 and 2 metres (5.2 and 6.6 ft).[2][4] The neck is long (relatively the longest neck among the swans) and curved in an "S"-shape.
The black swan utters a musical and far reaching bugle-like sound, called either on the water or in flight, as well as a range of softer crooning notes. It can also whistle, especially when disturbed while breeding and nesting.[2][5]
When swimming, black swans hold their necks arched or erect and often carry their feathers or wings raised in an aggressive display. In flight, a wedge of black swans will form as a line or a V, with the individual birds flying strongly with undulating long necks, making whistling sounds with their wings and baying, bugling or trumpeting calls.[2]
The black swan is unlike any other Australian bird, although in poor light and at long range it may be confused with a magpie goose in flight. However, the black swan can be distinguished by its much longer neck and slower wing beat.[6]
One captive population of black swans in Lakeland, Florida has produced a few individuals which are a light mottled grey colour instead of black.[7] White black swans are also known to exist; these individuals, which are leucistic, are believed to occur rarely in the wild.[8]
The black swan is common in the wetlands of southwestern and eastern Australia and adjacent coastal islands. In the south west its range encompasses an area between North West Cape, Cape Leeuwin and Eucla; while in the east it covers a large region bounded by the Atherton Tableland, the Eyre Peninsula and Tasmania, with the Murray Darling Basin supporting very large populations of black swans.[2][9] It is uncommon in central and northern Australia.
The black swan's preferred habitat extends across fresh, brackish and salt water lakes, swamps and rivers with underwater and emergent vegetation for food and nesting materials. It also favors permanent wetlands, including ornamental lakes, but can also be found in flooded pastures and tidal mudflats, and occasionally on the open sea near islands or the shore.[2]
The black swan was once thought to be sedentary, but is now known to be highly nomadic. There is no set migratory pattern, but rather opportunistic responses to either rainfall or drought. In high rainfall years, emigration occurs from the south west and south east into the interior, with a reverse migration to these heartlands in drier years. When rain does fall in the arid central regions, black swans will migrate to these areas to nest and raise their young. However, should dry conditions return before the young have been raised, the adult birds will abandon the nests and their eggs or cygnets and return to wetter areas.[10]
The black swan, like many other water fowl, loses all its flight feathers at once when it moults after breeding and is unable to fly for about a month. During this time it will usually settle on large, open waters for safety.[10]
The species has a large range, with figures between 1 and 10 million km2 given as the extent of occurrence. The current global population is estimated to be up to 500,000 individuals. No threat of extinction or significant decline in population has been identified with this numerous and widespread bird.[1]
Black swans were first seen by Europeans in 1697, when Willem de Vlamingh's expedition explored the Swan River, Western Australia.
Before the arrival of the Māori in New Zealand, a related species of swan known as the New Zealand swan had developed there, but was apparently hunted to extinction. In 1864, the Australian black swan was introduced to New Zealand as an ornamental waterfowl and populations are now common on larger coastal or inland lakes, especially Rotorua Lakes, Lake Wairarapa, Lake Ellesmere, and the Chatham Islands.[5] Black swans have also naturally flown to New Zealand, leading scientists to consider them a native rather than exotic species, although the present population appears to be largely descended from deliberate introductions.[11]
The black swan is also very popular as an ornamental waterbird in western Europe, especially Britain, and escapees are commonly reported. As yet, the population in Britain is not considered to be self-sustaining and so the species is not afforded admission to the official British List,[12] but the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have recorded a maximum of nine breeding pairs in the UK in 2001, with an estimate of 43 feral birds in 2003–2004. A small population of black swans exists on the River Thames at Marlow, on the brook running through the small town of Dawlish in Devon, near the River Itchen, Hampshire, and the River Tees near Stockton on Tees.[13] The Dawlish population is so well associated with the town that the bird has been the town's emblem for forty years.[14]
There are also wild populations in Japan, having originally been imported during 1950–1960.[15][16][17]
Black swans have been reported in Florida, but there is no evidence that they are breeding; persistent sightings may be due to continual releases or escapes. Orange County, California reported black swans in Lake Forest, Irvine and Newport Beach on October 5, 2020, and Santa Ana in December 2021 in the “Versailles on the Lake” apartment community. The "Lake Forest Keys” community bought the original swans about eight to ten years ago and since then there have been many births and gaggles from the original couple" according to a report in the Orange County Register.[18][19] Black swans formerly resided in the vicinity of Lake Junaluska, a large lake in Waynesville, North Carolina.[20]
Black swans can also be found in mainland China.[21] In 2018 one group of swans was introduced to the Shenzhen University campus on an artificial lake in Guangdong Province.
The black swan is almost exclusively herbivorous, and while there is some regional and seasonal variation, the diet is generally dominated by aquatic and marshland plants. In New South Wales the leaf of reedmace (genus Typha) is the most important food of birds in wetlands, followed by submerged algae and aquatic plants such as Vallisneria. In Queensland, aquatic plants such as Potamogeton, stoneworts, and algae are the dominant foods. The exact composition varies with water level; in flood situations where normal foods are out of reach black swans will feed on pasture plants on shore.[22] The black swan feeds in a similar manner to other swans. When feeding in shallow water it will dip its head and neck under the water and it is able to keep its head flat against the bottom while keeping its body horizontal. In deeper water the swan up-ends to reach lower. Black swans are also able to filter feed at the water's surface.[23]
Like other swans, the black swan is largely monogamous, pairing for life (about 6% divorce rate).[24] Recent studies have shown that around a third of all broods exhibit extra-pair paternity.[25] An estimated one-quarter of all pairings are homosexual, mostly between males.[26] They steal nests, or form temporary threesomes with females to obtain eggs, driving away the female after she lays the eggs.[27][28][29]
Generally, black swans in the Southern hemisphere nest in the wetter winter months (February to September), occasionally in large colonies. A black swan nest is essentially a large heap or mound of reeds, grasses and weeds between 1 and 1.5 metres (3–4+1⁄2 feet) in diameter and up to 1 metre high, in shallow water or on islands.[2][10] A nest is reused every year, restored or rebuilt as needed. Both parents share the care of the nest. A typical clutch contains four to eight greenish-white eggs that are incubated for about 35–40 days.[30] Incubation begins after the laying of the last egg, to synchronise the hatching of the chicks. Prior to the commencement of incubation the parent will sit over the eggs without actually warming them. Both sexes incubate the eggs, with the female incubating at night. The change over between incubation periods is marked by ritualised displays by both sexes.[31] If eggs accidentally roll out of the nest both sexes will retrieve the egg using the neck (in other swan species only the female performs this feat).[32] Like all swans, black swans will aggressively defend their nests with their wings and beaks.[33] After hatching, the cygnets are tended by the parents for about nine months until fledging.[2][5] Cygnets may ride on their parent's back for longer trips into deeper water, but black swans undertake this behaviour less frequently than mute and black-necked swans.[34]
Up-ending in deeper water to reach food
Cygnus atratus, spring rain
Parent with cygnets in Australia
_nest_at_Booragoon_Lake,_August_2021_03.jpg)
A black swan and its nest at Booragoon Lake
Cygnus atratus – MHNT
The black swan is protected in New South Wales, Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (s.5). The Black Swan is fully protected in all states and territories of Australia and must not be shot. [35] It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]
The black swan was a literary or artistic image among Europeans even before their arrival in Australia. Cultural reference has been based on symbolic contrast and as a distinctive motif.
The black swan's role in Australian heraldry and culture extends to the first founding of the colonies in the eighteenth century. It has often been equated with antipodean identity, the contrast to the white swan of the northern hemisphere indicating 'Australianness'. The black swan is featured on the flag, and is both the state bird and 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.[36]
The Noongar People of the South-West of Australia call the black swan Kooldjak along the West and South-West coast, Gooldjak in the South East and it is sometimes referred to as maali in language schools.[37]
The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent on climatic conditions. It is a large bird with black plumage and a red bill. It is a monogamous breeder, with both partners sharing incubation and cygnet-rearing duties.
The black swan was introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s, but has managed to escape and form stable populations. Described scientifically by English naturalist John Latham in 1790, the black swan was formerly placed into a monotypic genus, Chenopis. Black swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands. It is a popular bird in zoological gardens and bird collections, and escapees are sometimes seen outside their natural range.
This bird is a regional symbol of both Western Australia, where it is native, and the English town of Dawlish, where it is an introduced species.
