Black swan - a native of Australia

Photographed in Hobart, Australia, October, 2018.

Here, in Canada, we see trumpeter swans, tundra swans, and the invasive mute swan.  Black swans may be kept for exotic purposes, but there are no actively breeding populations at the moment.  Some were released in Ottawa in 1967 as a gift from Queen Elizabeth II, but that population has reduced significantly and the remaining individuals moved to a Safari park in Quebec.

They are native to Australia; we saw dozens of them while visiting Hobart as part of our cruise.  They live up to 40 years of age in captivity, making it to only a third of that age in the wild.  Large individuals may weigh as much as 19 pounds, larger than even the biggest bald eagle.  

Like all swans, they are monogamous and mate for life.  They both care for the young that are precocial at birth and become independent around the age of nine months.  They become sexually mature at two to three years of age.

Swans are remarkable birds.  Large, graceful, and truly beautiful.  There are 8 species of swan in the world; I have seen four of them.

Thanks for reading. 

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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