- Black-necked Swan
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Black-necked Swan 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Subfamily: Anserinae Tribe: Cygnini Genus: Cygnus Species: C. melancoryphus Binomial name Cygnus melancoryphus
Molina, 1782Synonyms - Anas melancoripha (lapsus)
Molina, 1782 - Sthenelides melancoryphus
- Sthenelides melanocoryphus
(unjustified emendation) - Cygnus melancorypha
(a common lapsus) - Cygnus melanocoryphus
(unjustified emendation)
The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) is the largest waterfowl native to South America. Males are 115 to 140 cm (45 to 55 in) and weigh 4.5-6.7 kg (10-14.8 lbs); females are 100 to 124 cm (39 to 49 in) and weigh 3.5-4.4 kg (7.7–9.7 lbs).[1] The wingspan ranges from 135 to 177 cm (53 to 70 in).[2] The body plumage is white with a black neck, head and greyish bill. It has a red knob near the base of the bill and white stripe behind eye. The sexes are similar, with the female slightly smaller. The cygnet has a light grey plumage with black bill and feet. The Black-necked Swan was formerly placed in monotypic genus, Sthenelides.
The smallest member in its genus, it is found in freshwater marshes, lagoon and lake shores in southern South America. The Black-necked Swan breeds in Chilean Southern Zone, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and on the Falkland Islands. In the austral winter, this species migrates northwards to Paraguay and southern Brazil.[citation needed] The wetlands created by the Great Chilean Earthquake like Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary in Cruces River have become important population centers for the Black-necked Swan.
In 2004 and 2005 thousands of Black-necked Swans in the Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary in Chile died or migrated away following major contamination by Valdivia Pulp Mill located on the Cruces River which feeds the wetlands. By August 2005 the birds in the Sanctuary had been "wiped out"; only four birds could be observed from a population formerly estimated at 5,000 birds. Autopsies on dead swans attributed the deaths to high levels of iron and other metals polluting the water.[3]
The Black-necked Swan, like its nearest relatives the Black and Mute Swan is relatively silent. Also, unlike most wildfowl, both parents regularly carry the cygnets on their backs. The female lays four to six eggs in a nest of vegetation mound. The diet consists mainly of vegetation, insects and fish spawn.
Widespread and common throughout its habitat, the Black-necked Swan is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
Contents
Gallery
References
- ^ Information at wildlifeinformation.org
- ^ Ogilvie & Young, Wildfowl of the World. New Holland Publishers (2004), ISBN 978-1843303282
- ^ Anderson, S. (June 19, 2007). "Celco Trashes River Yet Again, Shuts Down Plant.". Patagonia Times. http://www.patagoniatimes.cl/content/view/114/26/.
Further reading
- BirdLife International (2004). Cygnus melanocoryphus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 9 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- David, N. & Gosselin, M. (2002): Gender agreement of avian species names. Bull. B. O. C. 122: 14-49.
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- IUCN Red List
- Black-necked Swan videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Stamps (for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, Uruguay) with RangeMap
- Black-necked Swan photo gallery VIREO
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Swans
- Cygnus
- Migratory birds (Western hemisphere)
- South American migratory birds
- Birds of South America
- Birds of Argentina
- Birds of Brazil
- Birds of Chile
- Birds of the Falkland Islands
- Birds of Paraguay
- Birds of Uruguay
- Birds of Tierra del Fuego
- Birds of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Animals described in 1782
- Anas melancoripha (lapsus)
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