Black Swan

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Family: Anatidae

Order: Anseriformes

Genus: Cygnus

Species: C. Atratus

Evolution

-mute, whooper, trumpeter, tundra, black, and black-necked

-First seen in 1697

-Closest relatives are geese and ducks

-Three ancestors are Vegais iaai, Presbyornis, and Procygnus

Description

-black feathered birds, white flight feathers, bright red bill

-between 43-56 inches

-8.6-20 lbs

-up to 40 years

-males are larger than females and have a longer and straighter bill

Description of Habitat:

-Periods of heavy rain 

-Algae, leaves of reedmace, and stoneworts

-Kiwi, short finned eel, bleating tree frog

-46-88 degrees Fahrenheit 

-Marshes, swamps, floodplains

Distribution:

-Oceania, North America

-Not invasive 

Diet:

-Algae, leaves of reedmace, stoneworts

-Eat 20-25% of their bodyweight per day 

-Plung their neck in water to get food 

-Occasionally eat insects

Social Structure:

-Usually move in flocks

-Predator and prey for species, maintain aquatic health

-Males or females can lead, they share roles

-Groups of 6-8, mate for life in pairs

-males greet each other with a snorting sound, females solicit mates with a glock call

Reproduction:

-Mate every year

-One mate for life 

-Mate from March to May

-Synchronised head dipping, preening and the rubbing of back and flanks

-They lay 5-7 eggs

Development:

-hatching, flying, migration

-Sexual maturity at 1-3 years of age

-Males are slightly larger than females