bird of the day: the black swan

the black swan is a large swan native to australia (though they have established populations in other countries).

the black swan feeds mostly off of vegetation matter in shallow water. they occasionally feed on fish or small water insects.

black swans are monogamous, with a 6% divorce rate. this isn’t unusual among swans. what is unusual about them is the fact that around 25% of swan pairs are homosexual, mainly both males. males have been regularly documented stealing eggs from females’ nests to raise on their own, as well as forming temporary ‘threesomes’, then kicking out the female swan as soon as she lays eggs. the same-sex swans have the same success rate as male-female pairs for raising their cygnets.

black swans are beautiful birds that are thankfully currently listed as least concern by the iucn. hopefully it stays this way and we can keep seeing and observing these unique and awesome birds.