Talk:Black Swan

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Contents 1 earlier conversations 2 None, none more black 3 Black Swan sighting NJ 4 History of discovery 5 Black Swans in Norfolk Broads 6 Minor edit 7 Black Swan lifestyle

[edit] earlier conversations

Hi, I spotted a Black Swan in a flooded gravel pit in Northampton UK this afternoon (28 May 2006). It was with a white swan. I guess it had escaped from captivity and paired up with one of the locals!

Hello, has there been many sightings of these in the USA? I'm sure I saw one last night on the Arkansas River.

• They are sighted in the US, but are not established. Instead any Black Swans seen here are escapees from collections (like zoos and ornamental gardens). Sabine's Sunbird 18:31, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

So if these birds are spotted in the U.S. should anything special be done?RbbrDuckmn 17:18, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

There are lots of species in the US that are escapees. I don't think there is any thing that is required to be done, although it never hurts to inform the local Humane Society. They might be able to catch them and rehome them (or return them to the original owners, as many zoo birds will be banded).Alternatively call your local birding organisation, who will either do something about it or send hundered of birders to list it. Sabine's Sunbird 02:19, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

Two Black Swans have that arrived in Southlake, TX on 3/17/2006, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We have a pond/lake surrounded by 11 homes in Southridge Lakes subdivision. The birds have been photographed and remain thru today 3/19/06.

[edit] None, none more black

The two Southern Hemisphere swans, the Black Swan of Australia and the Black-necked Swan of South America are different from the all-white Northern Hemisphere swans for having black coloration plumages.

To me this reads like "Black swans are different to white swans, as they're black, not white". It'd be better to say "Black swans are only found natively in Australia" or modify the quote from the 'swan' page: "The Northern Hemisphere species of swan have pure white plumage, but the Southern Hemisphere species are patterned with black. The Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings, and the South American Black-necked Swan has a black neck. The Coscoroba Swan, also from southern South America, has black tips to the primary feathers."

[edit] Black Swan sighting NJ

I saw what I thought was a black swan in a pond near my home in Vernon, NJ. Everyone I told said no way. I googled black swan, and was surprised to discover their native home is Australia, and they are rare here. I went back today, saw the bird again and now have photographic proof. Laura, Vernon, NJ

They often escape from captivity, jimfbleak 06:43, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History of discovery

I read that when the black swan was first seen in Australia and reported back in England, the majority of the population claimed that it was a fib. Can anyone verify/source this, and if worthwhile mention it in the article i guess?

[edit] Black Swans in Norfolk Broads

I am adding to the sighting list. I saw a pair at the Norfolk Broads in Norfolk county in the UK. My photo can be seen here.

- Mayuresh 19:03, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor edit

Changed "Both sexes are similar" to "The sexes are similar." (How can only one sex be similar?)

Kostaki mou 00:47, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Black Swan lifestyle

Recently, an anon user 71.196.140.140 added some article about Black Swan homosexuality, that reached almost a "quarter" of their total population. The source of this "nonsense" is Livescience website [1], and after reading some of their articles, is totally questionable. There's no confirmed source or anything about the information (personal view ??) posted on their site. Anybody has more knowledge about the website or the swan' lifestyle ? --Stavenn 02:30, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

• • The website in question is kind of lite but many of the articles seem no worse than you'd find on many local news channel websites. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of references on the site though. The amounts seem high for sure (though that didn't stop MSNBC from quoting them! Lets see what we can find about this in other sources. Sabine's Sunbird talk 02:56, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

I believe you're talking about the (CURRENTLY) 6th paragraph, which includes the sentence "According to the Web site "LiveScience", same-sex couples make up to 20 percent of all Black Swan pairings each year, and approximately 25 percent of all Black Swan pairs are of the same sex, and may live together for years". I've read this sentence about 10 times and I still can't decipher it. So, same-sex pairs make "up to" 20% of the population, and at the same time make up around 25% of the population.210.8.150.249 07:05, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Also, I'm going to check out my local library for more info about that fact, and hopefully bring in an extra (printed) source.210.8.150.249 07:05, 14 March 2007 (UTC) (Perth, Western Australia)