Black Swan

Black Swans are native to Australia and were brought to Britain as ornamental birds. As with many captive birds, they sometimes find their way into the wild and those seen in Britain are mostly escapees.

Black Swans appear to be all black when swimming but when they are flying their white primary wing feathers can be seen. They have a red bill with a broad white band on the tip. They are closely related and a similar size to the Mute Swan.

Sightings of Black Swans are reasonably common and they could be found on almost any body of water. Their habitat requirements are similar to Mute Swans and they are often found in the same areas.

There are small populations of Black Swans on the River Thames at Marlow, in Devon, near Stockton on Tees and in Hampshire.

The population in Britain is not considered to be self-sustaining and hasn’t been admitted to the official British List. A study in 2012 of bird populations in the British Isles, found there were just 37 confirmed nesting pairs of Black Swans in the country.