Black Swan

Cygnus atratus

Introduction

Striking large black waterbird that occasionally escapes from captivity and which now breeds regularly in the wild.

This popular ornamental species, introduced from Australia, is occasionally encountered in the wild, mostly as single individuals but sometimes in small groups. The species favours rivers and freshwater lakes.

Males are slightly larger than females but otherwise the sexes are similar, with the predominantly black plumage contrastingly strongly with a striking red bill and white flight feathers. The Rare Breeding Birds Panel regularly receives double-figure records of breeding attempts from across the UK, and there is an established breeding population in east Norfolk, centred on the Broads. The species is native to Australia.

Key Stats

Status

Scarce

Weight

5.9kg

Seasonality

<1%

BTO Records

29k records

Population and distribution stats for:

No data

No current data

% expansion

No data

No current data

796.7% expansion

Identification

Curated resources to aid in the identification of Black Swan

Songs and Calls

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Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Black Swan, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Call:

Status and Trends

Population size, trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO and partnership surveys and atlasses with data collected by BTO volunteers.

Conservation Status

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This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)

Least Concern

Schedule 1 Licence required (to disturb)*

Birds Directive Annex 1

* A guide only. Check details with the original legislation, especially those marked with an asterisk. See About Birdfacts for more information.

Population Size

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BOU Category

Source

Distribution

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Black Swans occur widely, as introductions or escapes, in a variety of habitats including ornamental ponds, lakes and marshes. The winter distribution map shows Black Swans to be widely distributed in the southern half of Britain. Breeding evidence was recorded in 111 10-km squares and these were mainly in southern and central England, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands; two records came from Ireland. In addition, Black Swans were recorded as non-breeding in a further 153 10-km squares.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007 and indicate how widespread a species is.

No. occupied in breeding season

110

% occupied in breeding season

3.6%

No. occupied in winter

285

% occupied in winter

9.4%

Bird Atlas distribution maps show where bird species breed or winter in Britain and Ireland. For breeding maps, larger dots indicate higher certainty the species bred in that area.

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

To view and download up-to-date distribution information aggregated from across BTO and partnership surveys and schemes, see our data holdings on the NBN Atlas.

Distribution Change

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Assessing change in range is difficult due to the likely under-reporting of Black Swans in previous atlases.

Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK

These figures come from Bird Atlas 2007-11 and indicate by how much occupied areas have expanded or contracted over recent decades.

% change in range in winter (1981–84 to 2007–11)

796.7 %

Bird Atlas distribution change maps show how bird distributions have changed through time. Coloured upward-pointing triangles show places apparently colonised over the period; grey downward-pointing triangles show places apparently vacated. Shading show places occupied.

Winter Distribution change for Black Swan

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Breeding Distribution change for Black Swan

Click the map to enlarge,
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.

Seasonality

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Black Swan is a naturalised non-native and can be encountered throughout the year.

Weekly pattern of occurrence

The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.

Phenology graph — Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about Black Swan movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

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View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

European movements

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EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Black Swan, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Survival and Longevity

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Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Black Swan

Classification and Codes

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Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Scientific name: Cygnus atratus
Authority: Molina, 1782

BTO 2-letter code: AS
BTO 5-letter code: BLASW
Euring code number: 20800

Alternate species names

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Catalan: cigne negre
Czech: labut cerná
Danish: Sortsvane
Dutch: Zwarte Zwaan
Estonian: mustluik
Finnish: mustajoutsen
French: Cygne noir

German: Schwarzschwan
Hungarian: fekete hattyú
Icelandic: Svartsvanur
Italian: Cigno nero
Latvian: melnais gulbis
Lithuanian: juodoji gulbe
Norwegian: Svartsvane

Polish: labedz czarny
Portuguese: cisne-preto
Slovak: labut cierna
Slovenian: crni labod
Spanish: Cisne negro
Swedish: svart svan
Welsh: Alarch Du

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

BTO

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

JNCC

RSPB

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