Wednesday 12 November 2014

YARRA SWANS

The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills. They are monogamous breeders that share incubation duties and cygnet rearing between the sexes.

Described scientifically by English naturalist John Latham in 1790, the Black Swan was formerly placed into a monotypic genus, Chenopis. Black Swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands. Black Swans are popular birds in zoological gardens and bird collections, and escapees are sometimes seen outside their natural range. These specimens (breeding pair and four cygnets) were snapped on the Yarra River right in the City.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wild Bird Wednesday meme.




9 comments:

  1. Beautiful birds and a very nice city scene, too!
    Have a happy day!
    Lea

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  2. The black swans are very neat looking! Great shots!

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  3. The first picture make me smile. It looks like they fall in line to do something together. Love it!

    Thank you for joining Water World Wednesday
    Kim,USA

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  4. I love black swans. We use to have one in our local park but it was killed by a raccoon. They are so graceful and so different from the Mute swans. Your photos were lovely.

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  5. How cool is that? I used to see black swans in Perth, but never in Melbourne. Love it!

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  6. Gosh we are lucky to live in Melbourne Nick.

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  7. Black swans all lined up in a row plus one that looks you right in the eye as if posing. Very nice capture.
    JM, Illinois-U.S.A.

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