Black swan
Cygnus atratus (Latham, 1790)
The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 5.6 kg, ranging from 5.1 to 6.2 kg, and a wingspan of 1.8 m, ranging from 1.6 to 2 m.
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Quick facts about the black swan
The black swan is an aquatic herbivore of wetland habitat, is partially migratory, and checklists record it in Australia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 5.1 kg – 6.2 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.6 m – 2 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 35 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 40 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 39 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.25 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
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the black swan?
Photos of the black swan
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the black swan live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The black swan is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the black swan?
The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent on climatic conditions. It is a large bird with black plumage and a red bill. It is a monogamous breeder, with both partners sharing incubation and cygnet-rearing duties.
Black swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands. It is a popular bird in zoological gardens and bird collections, and escapees are sometimes seen outside their natural range. The black swan was introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s, but has managed to escape and form stable populations.
This bird is a regional symbol of both Western Australia, where it is native, and the English town of Dawlish, where it is an introduced species.
From the Wikipedia article “Black swan” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_swan&oldid=1384685191), 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.
What does the black swan sound like?
Is the black swan endangered?
The black 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.
How is the black swan classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusCygnus
- SpeciesCygnus atratus (Latham, 1790)
Synonyms Anas atrata, Chenopis atrata, Chenopis atrata roberti, Chenopsis atratus
Other names and names in other languages (68)
- Cygnus atratusEnglish
- SwartswaanAfrikaans
- تم أسودArabic
- أوزة سوداءArabic
- cisne prietuAsturian
- Qara ququşuAzerbaijani
- Черен лебедBulgarian
- Alarc'h duBreton
- cigne negreCatalan
- labuť černáCzech
- Alarch DuWelsh
- SortsvaneDanish
- TrauerschwanGerman
- SchwarzschwanGerman
- Μαύρος κύκνοςGreek
- nigra cignoEsperanto
- Cisne negroSpanish
- mustluikEstonian
- قوی سیاهPersian
- mustajoutsenFinnish
- Cygne noirFrench
- Swarte SwanWestern Frisian
- Eala dhubhScottish Gaelic
- Ollay ghooManx
- ברבור שחורHebrew
- fekete hattyúHungarian
- Angsa HitamIndonesian
- Soang hitamIndonesian
- SvartsvanurIcelandic
- Cigno neroItalian
- コクチョウJapanese
- ngarlagankgs
- 흑고니Korean
- 검은고니Korean
- Qussuk qernertoqCornish
- Schwaarze SchwanLuxembourgish
- Schwaarze SchwunnLuxembourgish
- juodoji gulbėLithuanian
- melnais gulbisLatvian
- WānaMāori
- KakīānauMāori
- WaniMāori
- Црн лебедMacedonian
- Joyinah HitamMalay
- svartsvaneNorwegian Bokmål
- zwarte zwaanDutch
- Chin·nhe nòrePicard
- łabędź czarnyPolish
- Cisne-negroPortuguese
- cisne-pretoPortuguese
- Lebădă neagrăRomanian
- Чёрный лебедьRussian
- ČáhppesnjukčaNorthern Sami
- labuť čiernaSlovak
- črni labodSlovenian
- црни лабудSerbian
- Crni labudSerbian
- Sìsini niedduSardinian
- svart svanSwedish
- கறுப்பு அன்னம்Tamil
- หงส์ดำThai
- Kara KuğuTurkish
- Сьӧд юсьUdmurt
- Чорний лебідьUkrainian
- лебідь чорнийUkrainian
- mulguxdk
- 黑天鵝Chinese
- 黑天鹅Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black swan
Other species in the same genus Cygnus.
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus
Tundra swan
Cygnus columbianus
Black-necked swan
Cygnus melancoryphus
Trumpeter swan
Cygnus buccinator
CompareBlack swan vs Mute swanBlack swan vs Whooper swanBlack swan vs Tundra swanBlack swan vs Black-necked 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 swan?
The black swan is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup. It belongs to the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is a black swan?
An adult black swan has a body mass of 5.6 kg, with values from 5.1 to 6.2 kg reported by our sources.
What is the wingspan of a black swan?
The black swan has a wingspan of 1.8 m, with values from 1.6 to 2 m reported by our sources.
What does the black swan eat?
The black swan is a herbivore.
Is the black swan endangered?
No. The black swan is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a black swan live?
The black swan has a lifespan of 35 years, with values up to 40 years reported by our sources.
Who named the black swan?
The black swan, Cygnus atratus, was named by (Latham, 1790).
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 swan (Cygnus atratus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-swan
“Black swan (Cygnus atratus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-swan.
@misc{black_swan_2026,
title = {Black swan (Cygnus atratus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-swan},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}