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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
black
swan |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Anseriformes |
| FAMILY: |
Anatidae |
| SUBFAMILY: |
Anserini |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Cygnus
(swan) atratus (covered in black, as for
mourning) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
As
indicated by its name, this species of swan has
dark body plumage with white feather tips on its
wings. The bill is orange-red with a white band
near the tip and the eyes are bright red. |
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| SIZE: |
0.2-1.3 m long (0.22-1.5 ft.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
Up
to 9 kg (20 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
As
herbivores, these swans eat mainly aquatic vegetation |
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| INCUBATION: |
29-36 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
5-6
eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
Approximately
100 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
2-3 years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 40 years |
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| RANGE: |
Australia
and Tasmania; populations in New Zealand have been
introduced |
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| HABITAT: |
Found
in areas around lakes and rivers |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| 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. |
Swans
in general have the largest eggs 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. |
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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Drainage
of marshy areas is the primary threat to this
species survival but these birds are fairly common
and widespread.
In
Victoria and Tasmania they have caused such crop
damage that the government has established short
hunting seasons for the bird.
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|
|
| Austin,
G. Birds of the World. New York. Golden Press,
Inc., 1961. |
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|
Gotch, A.F. Birds - Their Latin Names Explained.
UK. Blandford Books Ltd., 1981. |
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Johnsgard, P. Waterfowl: Their Biology and
Natural History. London.University of London
Press. 1968.
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| Johnsgard,
P. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World.
Lincoln. Univ. Of Neb. Press. 1978. |
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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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