Waterbirds - Black Swan
| More pictures | Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) |  |
Black Swan
(Cygnus atratus)
| Length: | 140cm |
| Colours: | Black, red and white |
| Wingspan: | 200cm |
Description: Large black bird with white wing tips. The black swan has a long neck, black legs and webbed feet. Vivid red bill with white stripe near tip and red eyes. Females smaller than the males. Cygnets (young swans) are grey in colour with a black bill.
Region: South west of Western Australia, Tasmania and south east of Cairns to central South Australia, although more common in the wetter southern parts of Australia including Tasmania.
Habitat: Large wetlands, waterways or lagoons they require almost 50m of clear water to take off. They will live on fresh, brackish or saltwater.
Feeding: Their diet consists of algae and weeds, which they usually forage for in the water. With their long neck they can reach a depth of 100cm. Cygnets will feed themselves and include aquatic insects in their diet.
Breeding: In the north they breed between Feb and May while the southern birds breed in the winter, Jun to Sept. They mate for life; sometimes pairs can be found alone sometimes they can form large colonies with hundred of pairs. The clutch consists of five to ten pale green eggs laid in a large messy nest made from a pile of reeds and other grasses about 100cm across, usually located on an island or in shallow water.
