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2

Black Swan

(Cygnus atratus)
Aboriginal name(s): "baiamul"/"baayamal" [yuwaalayaay], "barayamal" [gamilaraay], "burunda" [gamilaraay]; "ginibi", "ginygar", "muru-dalang"/"muru-gudjihny"/"muru-gudji" [bundjalung]; "kunuwara" [yartwatjali, tjapwurrung, djadjawurrung]; "kelangunya", "pugherittah" (TAS); "koltjak", "marli", "wilar", "wanar", "woorotho", "koon-war-ror" (WA);
"koolyn", "mooroocoochin", "burbugate", "conawarre", "coonawa", "dunedoo", "koogarra", "kooraloo", "koorawarri", "kootie", "kungari", "mullewa";

Size: 1.1-1.4 m; wing span 1.6-2 m
Weight: 3.7-9 kg
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Black Swan at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

The sexes of birds shown below were not determined by individual birds' appearances, but by comparison with a nearby partner. Male Black Swans are taller than females, but otherwise not distinguishable.

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Black Swan resting in shallow water
[Mother of Ducks Lagoon NR, NSW, March 2012]

Lateral view of a male Black Swan
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, March 2006]

Close-up lateral view of a male Black Swan (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Carrara, Gold Coast, QLD, 2014]

FEMALE

Dorsal view of a female Black Swan
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2010]

PAIR

Near-lateral view of a pair of Black Swans, male in front (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, July 2021]

Lateral view of a pair of Black Swans, male at front right
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, March 2006]

Lateral view of a pair of Black Swans, male on the left, with a female Hardhead (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Dangars Lagoon, near Uralla, NSW, February 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a pair of Black Swans, male on the left, with a female Eurasian Coot (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Dangars Lagoon, near Uralla, NSW, February 2021]

Lateral view of a pair of Black Swans in flight
[Goran Lake, NSW, February 2022]

Pair of Black Swans taking off in a hurry
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal/near-dorsal view of two Black Swans (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Forever Wild Shared Earth Reserve, Mareeba, QLD, October 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a Black Swan (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Forever Wild Shared Earth Reserve, Mareeba, QLD, October 2020]

Close-up lateral view of three Black Swans (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Forever Wild Shared Earth Reserve, Mareeba, QLD, October 2020]

When such massive birds try to lift off, one had better not get in their way... (like the Dusky Moorhen under the feet of the leading swan)
[Mother of Ducks Lagoon NR, NSW, March 2012]

Frontal view of a Black Swan in flight
[Goran Lake, NSW, June 2012]

Bird trivia question: What is THAT? Click on image to see the full picture
[Goran Lake, NSW, June 2012]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up lateral view of a juvenile Black Swan; note the light-grey fringes (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, November 2022]

Lateral view of a family of Black Swans with fully grown offspring, 2nd and 3rd in line (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, January 2015]

Two juvenile Black Swans having a good look at an Australasian Swamphen (photo courtesy of C. Lawrence)
[Commonwealth Park Lake, Canberra, ACT, September 2015]

Pair of Black Swans with three cygnets (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Dorsal view of a family of Black Swans with three juveniles
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2010]

Pair of Black Swans with a cygnet; according to size, the male is probably the bird at the centre
(photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSW, April 2016]

Pair of Black Swans with 3 cygnets (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2021]

Family of Black Swans (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Robina, Gold Coast, QLD, May 2015]

Black Swan with a clutch of four cygnets (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, July 2022]

Pair of Black Swans with a big clutch of five cygnets (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, August 2017]

Pair of Black Swans with a big clutch of five cygnets (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, August 2017]

Clutch of five Black Swan cygnets (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, August 2017]

"Rudder full left!" Note the fully webbed foot (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2021]

Near-frontal view of a Black Swan cygnet (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Lateral view of a Black Swan cygnet (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Clutch of 5 Black Swan cygnets in their land of plenty (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Black Swan flapping its wings, which does not seem to faze the cygnets (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jul - Sep Eggs: 5 - 6 Incubation period: 35 - 45 days Fledging age: 120 - 160 days

The breeding season depends significantly on geographical latitude. In the tropical north Black Swans breed Feb - Apr. Given the right conditions, they can breed any time of the year.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket Material: Reeds Height above ground: N/A

Close-up view of a Black Swan on its nest (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, November 2022]

Close-up view of a Black Swan on its nest (photo courtesy of J. Thurmer)

Black Swan protecting its clutch against rain (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, July 2021]

Overview of a massive Black Swan nest mound (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, July 2021]

While one Black Swan is incubating, the partner engages in some home repair and maintenance (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, August 2021]

The person near this Black Swan nest provides a reference scale for both the size of the nest mound and the depth of water (photo courtesy of D. Johnston)
[Macquarie Marshes NP, NSW, 1989]

A washed up heap of seaweed, after some reshaping, also makes for a good Black Swan nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Paynesville, VIC, April 2023]

This Black Swan built its nest in an ephemeral wetland on a grain field that subsequently fell dry again

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 105 x 66 mm Colour: Creamy green Shape: Tapered oval

Close-up view of a Black Swan nest with 7 eggs inside (photo courtesy of D. Johnston)
[Macquarie Marshes NP, NSW, 1989]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal Mobility: Nomadic Elementary unit: Pair/flock

There is a separate page describing Black Swan courtship behaviour.

Male Black Swan trying to impress a female
[New Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, June 2019]

Male Black Swan trying to impress the competition (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, July 2022]

Like other aquatic species, Black Swans are known to carry their offspring on their backs
[Little Llangothlin NR, NSW, August 2015]

Female Black Swans seen preening standing on one leg (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, June 2021]

Food, Diet

Like all other geese, ducks and swans, Black Swans are vegetarian. They feed on underwater plants.

Close-up lateral view of three Black Swans feeding on aquatic plants (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Forever Wild Shared Earth Reserve, Mareeba, QLD, October 2020]

Adult Black Swan harvesting underwater (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Mob of Black Swans feeding on a fallow field
[Goran Lake, near Gunnedah, NSW, March 2023]

Black Swan cygnet being fed (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

blswan_20141010.mp3 (NW NSW) Warning call (human) © MD
blswan_20161218_3.m4a (NW NSW) Concert (group) © MD
blswan_20161218_2.m4a (NW NSW) ? © MD

More Black Swan sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.