Skip to main content

Black Swan

Cygnus atratus
Before stumbling upon this species I had always thought that black swans were just a color variation. But not so!   Their is actually an entire, unique species of bird that can be found in Australia, as well as in introduced populations in New Zealand and North America.

Despite the name, the  Black Swan is not completely black; they actually have white flight feathers that are not visible when the wings are folded down. They also have bright red bills. Black Swans have the longest neck of any swan, are also one of the largest of all the waterfowl species, with a wingspan of up to 2m!

Black Swan in Flight
Black Swans mate for life, and actually perform a courting behavior called a "Triumph Ceremony" that helps to strengthen the bond of the pair. These dances are also used to threaten outsiders and mark territories.

Females lay 5-6 eggs at a time, and they are incubated and cared for by both parents. Cygnets are precocial and greyish-brown in color. Young Swans will often form their own flocks until they pair up for mating.

IUCN Status :  Least Concern
Location : Australia
Size : Length up to 55in (140cm), Wingspan up to 6.5ft (2m)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Anseriformes
Family : Anatidae -- Genus : Cygnus -- Species : C. atratus

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!

Banggai Cardinalfish

Pterapogon kauderni The Banggai Cardinalfish is a small tropical fish that is becoming very rare in the wild, even though it has been successfully bred in captivity. You will only find these small, 3in long fish around the Banggai Islands of Indonesia. They are the only members of their genus, and you can tell them apart from other Cardinalfish by their three-striped bodies, tasseled first dorsal fin, long second dorsal, and their deep-forked tail fins. Banggai Cardinalfish are diurnal and live in small groups of about a dozen members. They are opportunistic feeders who dine on whatever smaller plants and animals they can find. Courtship and mating is pretty interesting for these guys-- females are the ones who initiate. They isolate a male and the pair will perform various courtship rituals before spawning. The Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders, which means that the males take the fertilized eggs (up to 90 of them) into their mouths and incubate them for up to 30 days. During t...