Black Swan
Sir David Attenborough presents a widely regarded symbol of Australia, the black swan.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Sir David Attenborough presents a widely regarded symbol of Australia, the black swan. These stately looking birds are native to the wetlands of south-western and eastern Australia. The New Zealand population was hunted to extinction but has now been reintroduced there. Their plumage is charcoal grey rather than black and beautifully ruched along their lower back, hiding the white primary feathers which are fully revealed in flight. Their only colour is a raspberry- coloured bill. Black swans behave like nomads, tracking local rains and breeding when they can. In Britain as a collection bird, a few have even cross-bred with mute swans to produce a greyish hybrid nick-named the 'Blute Swan'.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)
Webpage image courtesy of Inaki Relanzon / naturepl.com.
NPL Ref 漏 Inaki Relanzon / naturepl.com.
Broadcasts
- Fri 2 Jan 2015 05:58大象传媒 Radio 4
- Thu 3 Dec 2015 05:58大象传媒 Radio 4
- Mon 14 Jan 2019 05:58大象传媒 Radio 4
- Fri 11 Sep 2020 05:58大象传媒 Radio 4
Podcast: Planet Puffin
Try this new podcast
Five stories of birds and birdsong are told by the people inspired by them.
Podcast
-
Tweet of the Day
Discover birds through their songs and calls. 265 programmes of 90 seconds, over a year