#Cygnus atratus

[duck-disco]

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

© Andrea and Gauss

#black swan #cygnus atratus #anatidae #anseriformes #andrea and gauss #birds

[mostly-moist-birds]

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

© c.marney

#black swan #cygnus atratus #anatidae #anseriformes #c.marney #birds

[allblackbirds]

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

© Andrea and Gauss

#black swan #cygnus atratus #anatidae #anseriformes #andrea and gauss #birds

[that-bird-is-a-mood]

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

© Jessie Leong

#black swan #cygnus atratus #anatidae #anseriformes #jessie leong #birds

[noodle-necks]

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

© Andrea and Gauss

#black swan #cygnus atratus #anatidae #anseriformes #andrea and gauss #birds

[martialito]

Black Swan ✽ Cygnus atratus

#Black Swan #Cygnus atratus #Swan #Bird

[helluvatimes]

Black Swan

A black swan creating turbulence in the Eco Lake as it preened itself. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

Photographing this black swan in the lake with the reflection of a white sky would’ve meant white washed water if we were to expose for the swan. Thankfully, the swan had created some turbulence in the water and so Nell had only need to dial in 0.3 stop of negative exposure compensation to get this image.

#photographers on tumblr #bird photography #bird pics #black swan photos #canon 55-250mm #Cygnus atratus #flora fauna #olympus em1 #olympus photography #photography tips

[oh-dear-so-queer]

Many Black and Mute Swans in same-sex pairs are probably exclusively homosexual, since they do not engage in heterosexual copulation or pairing and usually ignore unpaired birds of the opposite sex.

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl

#book quote #biological exuberance #bruce bagemihl #nonfiction #black swan #cygnus atratus #mute swan #cygnus olor #homosexual #gay #pair bonding

[whats-in-a-sentence]

The two males frequently perform the GREETING CEREMONY, a pair-bonding display that helps solidify and reinforce their partnership: the birds face one another, raise their wings (sometimes flapping them to expose the white feathers), and call repeatedly while extending their necks and lifting their bills up.

A homosexual pair of male Black Swans performing the "greeting ceremony"

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl

#book quotes #biological exuberance #bruce bagemihl #nonfiction #black swan #cygnus atratus #greeting ceremony #pair bonding #partnership #courtship #gay

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Surprising Black Swans

A popular ornamental waterbird in Europe and North America, the black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a species of swan endemic to Australia and New Zealand. In both their native and introduced ranges they can be found near bodies of fresh or salt water, especially lakes and wetlands with plenty of aquatic vegetation. The species is highly nomadic, and migrate based on yearly rainfall patterns.

Black swans are the second largest swan species, with a maximum weight of 9 kg (19.8 lbs) and a wingspan of 2 m (6.6 ft). Despite being smaller, black swans have the longest neck of any swan. Males, also known as cobs, are slight larger than females-- aka pens. As their name suggests, C. atratus has black plumage, although the flight feathers on their wings are white. The beak is a bright red with a white stripe, thought to be indication of an individuals health and sexual maturity.

Like all swans, the black swan mates for life. In addition to their high fidelity rates, C. atratus is also unique for its high rates of homosexual couples; about 25% of pairings are between individuals of the same sex (primarily males). These mates are known to steal eggs from other nests or form temporary ‘throuples’ with a member of the opposite sex, and some research has shown that homosexual couples are more than twice as likely to successfully raise their young as heterosexual couples.

The mating season for black swans occurs from February to September. While pairs are generally solitary, groups will nest in the same area to increase the chances of finding a mate and decrease the risk of predation. Pairs form when one an individual approaches another and initiates a ritual known as the Triumph Ceremony, in which the individual extends their wings and calls out. If the mate is receptive, they will repeat the gesture, and the pair will then go through a synchronous dance to solidify their pairing. This ceremony is repeated multiple times throughout each breeding season to strengthen the pair’s bond and affirm that between parent and chick.

Females lay 5 or 6 eggs in a clutch, and will alternate incubating them with her partner for 35 to 48 days. After hatching, the young- also known as cygnets- are fairly precocial but will stay in or near the nest for 2 to 3 weeks. It takes up to 6 months for them to completely lose their grey down and grow their adult plumage, though they remain with their family units for up to 9 months. Once they have fully fledged, juveniles join groups of other cygnets for 1-2 years, at which point they become sexually mature.

Black swans can present an intimidating threat to potential predators, so there are few animals that attack fully grown adults. However, eggs and young cygnets can be a target for ravens, birds of prey, and rodents. C. atratus themselves are herbivores and feed primarily on aquatic vegetation.

Conservation status: the IUCN has classified the black swan as Least Concern, and their native populations are stable.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a ko-fi! 

Photos

Damian Shaw

Richard Tommy Campion

Susan Marley via iNaturalist

#black swan #Anseriformes #Anatidae #swans #water fowl #fowl #water birds #birds #freshwater fauna #freshwater brids #lakes #lake birds #wetlands #wetland birds #urban fauna #urban birds #oceania #australia

[alonglistofbirds]

[877/10,977] Black Swan - Cygnus atratus

Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans) Subfamily: Anserinae

Photo credit: Alexander Babych via Macaulay Library

#birds #Black Swan #Anseriformes #Anatidae #Anserinae #Cygnus #birds a to z #undescribed

[mindblowingscience]

The threat is thought to be so severe that it could wipe out the species entirely.

The discovery comes after the distinctive bird's genome was sequenced for the first time in 2021.

Ordinarily, this achievement would be something to celebrate from a scientific perspective – but a comparison with closely-related northern hemisphere white swans has revealed that certain key immune genes are missing from its DNA.

That's likely to be, at least partly, down to the way that the black swan is isolated geographically. These animals haven't had the same exposure to pathogens that are found outside of southeast and southwest Australia, the areas where it primarily lives and breeds.

"[B]lack swans are extremely sensitive to highly pathogenic avian influenza – HPAI which is often referred to as bird flu - and can die from it within three days," says microbiologist Kirsty Short from the University of Queensland in Australia.

Continue Reading

#science #stem #biology #nature #viruses #avian influenza #swans #animals

[m1ckeyb3rry]

the silence of swans is such a pretty name, i'm such a sucker for things based around birds (i love h/h y/n's technique fr) so im really curious what that wip is about!! if someone has already asked about it though then i wouldn't mind knowing a bit about the kyoto au :D also are there any other characters you ever plan to write about in the future? i love reading your works!

thank you!! i love birds too HAHA if it isn’t obvious from how many bird-based stuff i have already. h/h y/n’s technique is so fun for me to write especially because i don’t think i’ve ever seen anything like it before so it makes me feel intellectual 😫 let me add a cut real quick because i’m sure i’m abt to ramble a ton HAHAH

the silence of swans is actually meant to be a version of my story “a ship in the harbor” set in a more fantasy-based world just because those characters are like. my beloveds but sometimes the aot world can be a lot for me. it’s a story told in three parts, with the first part being the mc (who is an elite soldier known as one of the cygnus atratus) finding an injured soldier from enemy territory with amnesia and begrudgingly nursing him back to health because she is so lonely that even his company is enough to make her happy and because she feels guilty about what she did in the previous war and feels like this is her atonement. the boy has zero memories of being a knight of the cardinal, which the mc figures out he is based on his uniform, and the only thing he does remember is his first name. they eventually fall in love as he stays with her, and the title comes from the fact that until the boy came, the only company mc had were the pair of swans that lived in the lake by her house. they were accustomed enough to her presence that they didn’t freak out whenever she went near them, and so the “tagline” of the story is suppose is when mc thinks to herself: “before i met him, the silence of swans was the closest thing to love i knew.”

however, it turns out that the soldier who shot the cardinal and made him lose his memories is someone that mc was lowkey in love with but can’t see anymore ever since the war due to only associating bad memories with him. he comes to visit her at some point and the cardinal sees him and gets his memories back. while mc is out somewhere, he writes her a letter thanking her and apologizing for leaving, as well as telling her his full name.

the second part of the story is essentially a flashback and tells the story of what mc did while at war and how she managed to help the army take over a small country. there’s also a lot of cygnus atratus lore in this part because they’re kind of superhuman?? they’re fueled by lapis lazuli which is also what the knights of the cardinals are powered by and what the bullet that mc’s cardinal was shot by was made of. it turns out that bullets made of lapis don’t even need to fatally wound someone to kill them, and the idea to make weapons out of lapis were mc’s idea and that’s how they took over the country of corvane.

the mc is from a country called svanin and the knights of the cardinal are from a place called roscello, which mostly has jurisdiction over the cyanocitta mountains, where lapis lazuli is found. svanin wants to take over roscello so they can have the cyanocitta for themselves, as at the moment they only have the few foothills they took from corvane and must trade for additional lapis. the third part of the story is the mc and her cardinal committing treason for one another and trying to figure out which side is right and who to actually fight for. that part of the story is the least thought out by me obviously HAHAH but anyways the parts in order are “pt. 1 — the cardinal”, “pt. 2 — the crow”, and “pt. 3 — the catbird”.

kyoto au is entirely unimpressive compared to this HAHAHA it was just a oneshot i started writing that was an au of this one megumi fic i never finished. in this au the main character goes to the kyoto school instead of tokyo and only meets megumi in that one ep where todo beats him up, so it’s mostly just comedy of her and megumi meeting for the first time and megumi lowkey hating her for being associated with the kyoto school meanwhile she has the most MASSIVE crush on him because he’s antisocial and described as a “loser” by his friends which is exactly her type.

awww thank you so much i’m so glad you like my stories!! i’m not sure what characters i’ll want to write for in the future 🤔 as much as i love choso i can never come up with any story for him so probably not him…i love kashimo and megumi more than anything but they both have fics already so idt i’ll write for them again either. if you have any suggestions or requests for characters lmk!! i don’t really do requests in the traditional sense but maybe inspiration will strike if someone tells me who to write for 😭😭😭.

#answered asks

[noodle-necks]

Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

© Jessie Leong

#black swan #cygnus atratus #anatidae #anseriformes #jessie leong #birds

[momo-t-daye]

Ooh, I have the polls feature now!

Hmm...

#Severus Snape #Snapedom #Silly poll for the fun of it

[lunarfeat21]

I need to toss these two big thoughts out since it’s been bothering me for a few weeks while watching tugs (plus being new to fandom)!

————————————

Now, this is my first thought and picture this in your thoughts after reading this post:

Imagine the Bigg City Port hosts a tugboat ballet, starring both the Star Fleet and Z-Stacks wearing swan costumes.

Star Fleets represents Cygnus olor (Mute Swan) and the Z-Stacks represents Cygnus atratus (Black Swan), both do solos and pairings based on their acts and win a prize (what would be the prize? I have no idea).

They twirl, circle around, spray water from their water cannons, whistles, and some of the choreography are based of mute swan’s rotation dance. It’s like swan lake, but tugboat edition :)

(Also let me give you a tip that I learned from my old teacher from high school days: when searching for a certain plant or animal but got some else that bears the same common name, search by using the scientific name (from wiki or whatever you used), copy/paste the name and your search will be so much easier! Like the black swan, I used it’s scientific name and got what I was looking for instead of the movie)

——————————————— Thought number two:

What if one of the characters found a bunch of miniature young tugboats?

First, where do they come from? Would these little guys follow the bigger tugs everywhere like ducklings followed their mother? What should we called them? Tuglings? What would the Captains do? What would the tugs do? Most importantly, how will the port handle it?

—————————————————

Alright, enough of my ramblings and tugboat ballet & swan rotation videos incoming :) (for your troubles)

(Imagine zip and ten cents performed last :3)

(Everyone in general)

#this is tugs #god I feel like I’m overdoing this #too much #(Yeets it at you) #Woe random thoughts be upon ye #feat21 speaking #Dumping something irrelevant #Youtube #Hehehe… swan tugs #tugs ten cents #tugs zip #bigg city port