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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
black-necked
swan |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Anseriformes |
| FAMILY: |
Anatidae |
| SUBFAMILY: |
Anserini |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Cygnus
(swan) melancoryphus (black pigment) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
As
indicated by its name, this is a large white swan
with a black neck. A red knob or carbuncle at the
base of the upper mandible is enlarged in males
at breeding season. The black-necked swan has short
wings, but still is a fast flyer. |
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| SIZE: |
102-124 cm (40.8-49.6 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
4.0-5.4 kg (8.8-11.9 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
Black-necked
swans are herbivores and feed mainly on aquatic
plants. |
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| INCUBATION: |
36 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
4-8
eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
Approximately
100 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
4 years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Averages
10 years, but able to live up to 30 years |
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| RANGE: |
Southern
portion of South America, including Falkland Islands |
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| HABITAT: |
Inhabits
swamps, freshwater marshes, brackish lagoons and
shallow lakes |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Appendix
II |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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|
| 1. |
The
term 'swan song' comes from the ancient Greek belief
that a swan sang a song of death when its life was
about to end. |
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| 2. |
Male swans are called cobs, females are pens, and
young are cygnets. |
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| 3. |
Swans have far more neck vertebrae than mammals,
with 24 or 25 vertebrae; most mammals only have
seven. |
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| 4. |
Swan
eggs are the largest of any flighted bird. |
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| 5. |
Swan
parents will carry cygnets on their back while swimming,
enabling the parents to regain weight lost to the
rigors of mating, egg laying, incubation, simultaneous
feeding, and brooding. This practice also provides
protection for the downy cygnets. |
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| 6. |
The
black-necked swan is the largest South American
waterfowl. |
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| 7. |
Swans
are known to have a triumph ceremony. Such ceremonies
are when a male attacks a rival suitor, then returns
to his potential mate to perform an elaborate ceremony
while posturing and calling. |
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Swans
are vital in controlling aquatic plant growth.
The cygnets are often food for other animals too.
This
species's primary threat is drainage of marshy
areas.
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| |
|
|
| Austin,
G. Birds of the World. New York. Golden Press,
Inc., 1961. |
|
|
Gotch, A.F. Birds - Their Latin Names Explained.
UK. Blandford Books Ltd., 1981. |
|
|
Johnsgard, P. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the
World. Lincoln. Univ. Of Neb. Press, 1978.
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| Johnsgard,
P. Waterfowl: Their Biology and Natural History.
London. University of London Press. 1968. |
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| Palmer,
R.S. (ed.). Handbook of North American Birds.
Vol. 4. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. |
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| Scott,
P. A Coloured Key of the Wildfowl of the World.
Slimbridge, England. The Wildfowl Trust. 1988. |
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| Todd,
F.S. Natural History of Waterfowl. San Diego,
Ca. Ibis Publishing Co., 1996. |
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