THE BLACK SWAN 



(Cygnus atratus) 



WHEN the old Roman poet penned the well-known line, " Rara avis in terris, 

 nigroque simillima cygno,"* he little imagined that a black swan was 

 actually living in the then unknown and undreamt-of Antipodes, to be 

 discovered in the dim and distant future by the sailors of a little island in the 

 far north inhabited by fair-haired barbarians of whom he may or may not 

 have heard. 



The black swan of Australia, from which the Swan River takes its name, 

 is not perhaps the ideal black swan of the poet, for, as a matter of fact, it has a 

 good deal of white in its wings, although but little of this is visible when the 

 wings are closed, as in the illustration. Moreover, the general colour of the plumage 

 is brownish black, rather than pure black, while the beak is crimson with a white 

 tip, and the eyes are scarlet. From all other swans this species differs by the 

 curling feathers in the region of the shoulder, and the extreme shortness of the 

 tail. Other distinctive features are to be found in the compressed body, the long 

 neck, the small, gracefully carried head, and the absence of a ridge to the beak. 



The range of the black swan includes both Australia and Tasmania, where 

 it is found not only on the coast, but likewise on the rivers and lakes of the 

 interior. In the earlier days of Australian colonisation it abounded in many parts 

 of the country ; but, unfortunately, it is a bird by no means shy, and therefore 

 comparatively easy to shoot, and in consequence of this it has been incessantly 

 and relentlessly persecuted, even the cygnets, while still unable to fly, being 

 hunted among the reeds in the swamps and killed out of pure maliciousness. 

 As a result of this persecution the species has everywhere become scarce, and 

 from some parts of the country has been exterminated. 



During the winter months these swans collect in small parties and families 

 in South Australia, and return to their breeding-places in spring. The nest is a 

 huge, ill-built structure, made out of coarse materials and lined with sedge. It is 

 generally situated in the neighbourhood of small islands, where the parent birds 

 can readily collect the large amount of material required for its construction. The 

 clutch consists of from five to seven dirty white or pale green spotted eggs, which 

 are brooded with great assiduity by the female, while the male keeps guard in the 

 neighbourhood. The cygnets are clothed in a grey or rufous down, and can swim 

 and dive as soon as they are hatched. The food of both young and adults comprises 

 water-plants of all kinds, as well as worms, molluscs, and small frogs and fishes. 



* " A rare bird in the world, and most like a black swan." 



