Black-necked swan
Cygnus melancoryphus (Molina, 1782)
The black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized, aquatic herbivore of wetland habitats, with an adult body mass of 4.7 kg and reported values from 4 to 5.55 kg.
Quick facts about the black-necked swan
It lays 1 clutch per year of 5.5 eggs, which are incubated for 35 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. The species is partially migratory, has a geographic range of 1,143,000 km² and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 4 kg – 5.55 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 20 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 30 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 35 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.52src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the black-necked swan
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the black-necked swan live?
Not recorded
What is the black-necked swan?
The black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) is a species of South American waterfowl in the tribe Cygnini of the subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands. The black-necked swan is the smallest true swan on average, weighing between 3.5–8.7 kg (7.7–19.2 lb) as adults, but it is still the largest species of waterfowl native to South America.
From the Wikipedia article “Black-necked swan” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-necked_swan&oldid=1383337944), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black-necked swan endangered?
The black-necked swan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the black-necked swan classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusCygnus
- SpeciesCygnus melancoryphus (Molina, 1782)
Synonyms Anas melancorypha, Anas melanocoripha, Cygnus melanocorypha, Cygnus melanocorypha melanocorypha, Cygnus melanocoryphus, Cygnus melanocoryphus, Cygnus melanocoryphus, Sthenelides melancoryphus, Sthenelides melanocoryphus
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- SwartnekswaanAfrikaans
- تم أسود العنقArabic
- إوز أسود العنقArabic
- cisne de pescuezu prietuAsturian
- Черноврат лебедBulgarian
- Alarc'h gouzoug duBreton
- cigne de coll negreCatalan
- labuť černokrkáCzech
- Sorthalset SvaneDanish
- SchwarzhalsschwanGerman
- Μελανόλαιμος κύκνοςGreek
- nigrakola cignoEsperanto
- Cisne cuellinegroSpanish
- Cisne cuello negroSpanish
- Cisne de cuello negroSpanish
- mustkael-luikEstonian
- mustakaulajoutsenFinnish
- Cygne à cou noirFrench
- Swartnekke SwanWestern Frisian
- ברבור שחור-צווארHebrew
- ברבור שחור צווארHebrew
- feketenyakú hattyúHungarian
- Cigno colloneroItalian
- Cigno dal collo neroItalian
- クロエリハクチョウJapanese
- juodakaklė gulbėLithuanian
- zwarthalszwaanDutch
- svarthalssvaneNorwegian
- Chin·nhe à co noèrPicard
- łabędź czarnoszyiPolish
- cisne-de-pescoço-pretoPortuguese
- Черношейный лебедьRussian
- labuť čiernokrkáSlovak
- Crnovrati labudSerbian
- svarthalsad svanSwedish
- หงส์ขาวคอดำThai
- Kara Boyunlu KuğuTurkish
- лебідь чорношиїйUkrainian
- 黑頸天鵝Chinese
- 黑颈天鹅Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black-necked swan
Other species in the same genus Cygnus.
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
Black swan
Cygnus atratus
Tundra swan
Cygnus columbianus
Trumpeter swan
Cygnus buccinator
CompareBlack-necked swan vs Mute swanBlack-necked swan vs Whooper swanBlack-necked swan vs Black swanBlack-necked swan vs Tundra swan
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the black-necked swan?
The black-necked swan is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup. It belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the black-necked swan?
An adult Black-necked swan weighs 4.7 kg, with reported values from 4 to 5.55 kg. This places it in the medium size class.
What does the black-necked swan eat?
The black-necked swan is a herbivore. It is an aquatic species of wetland habitats.
Is the black-necked swan endangered?
No. The black-necked swan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the black-necked swan live?
The black-necked swan has a lifespan of 20 years, with values up to 30 years reported.
How many eggs does the black-necked swan lay?
The black-necked swan lays 5.5 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 35 days.
Does the black-necked swan migrate?
Yes, the black-necked swan is partially migratory.
Who named the black-necked swan?
The black-necked swan was named Cygnus melancoryphus by (Molina, 1782).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-necked-swan
“Black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-necked-swan.
@misc{black_necked_swan_2026,
title = {Black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-necked-swan},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}