Editing Black swan (section)

==Description==
[[File:Black swan jan09.jpg|thumb|left|Side view of mature adult showing characteristic "S" neck]]
[[File:Black Swan JCB.jpg|thumb|left|Near Devonport, Tasmania with wings raised in an aggressive display revealing white flight feathers]]
Black swans are black-feathered birds, with white flight feathers. The [[Beak|bill]] is bright red, with a pale bar and tip; and legs and feet are greyish-black. Cobs (males) are slightly larger than pens (females), with a longer and straighter bill. Cygnets (immature birds) are a greyish-brown with pale-edged feathers.<ref name =Pizzey/>

Mature black swans measure between {{convert|110|and|142|cm|in}} in length and weigh {{convert|3.7|–|9|kg|lb}}. Their wing span is between {{convert|1.6|and|2|m|ft}}.<ref name =Pizzey/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/s/0AvAnserif/anatidae/1acravan_cygnus/cygnus_atratus/cygnus_atratus.html#Measurement |title=Cygnus atratus – Black swan (Species) |publisher=Wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org |access-date=2011-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930193111/http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/s/0AvAnserif/anatidae/1acravan_cygnus/cygnus_atratus/cygnus_atratus.html#Measurement |archive-date=2011-09-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The neck is long (relatively the longest neck among the swans) and curved in an "S"-shape.

The black swan utters a musical and far reaching bugle-like sound, called either on the water or in flight, as well as a range of softer crooning notes. It can also whistle, especially when disturbed while breeding and nesting.<ref name =Pizzey/><ref name = Falla>{{cite book |author=Falla, R.A. |author2=Sibson, R.B. |author3=Turbott, E.G. |name-list-style=amp  |title=The New Guide to the Birds of New Zealand and Outlying Islands |publisher=Collins |location=Auckland |year=1981 |page=80 |isbn=0-00-217563-0 }}</ref>

When swimming, black swans hold their necks arched or erect and often carry their feathers or wings raised in an aggressive display. In flight, a wedge of black swans will form as a line or a V, with the individual birds flying strongly with undulating long necks, making whistling sounds with their wings and baying, bugling or trumpeting calls.<ref name =Pizzey/>
[[File:Black Swan skeleton.jpg|thumb|Black swan skeleton ([[Museum of Osteology]])]]
The black swan is unlike any other Australian bird, although in poor light and at long range it may be confused with a [[magpie goose]] in flight. However, the black swan can be distinguished by its much longer neck and slower wing beat.<ref>''Waterfowl in New South Wales'', op. cit.: 25, 37–39</ref>

One captive population of black swans in [[Lakeland, Florida]] has produced a few individuals which are a light mottled grey colour instead of black.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rousos|first=Rick|title=Mutant Swans Could Mean Hundreds of Dollars for City|url=http://www.theledger.com/article/20021227/NEWS/212270369?tc=ar|access-date=19 February 2014|newspaper=The Lakeland Ledger|date=December 27, 2002|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223064441/http://www.theledger.com/article/20021227/NEWS/212270369?tc=ar|url-status=dead}}</ref> White black swans are also known to exist; these individuals, which are [[Leucism|leucistic]], are believed to occur rarely in the wild.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-05-08 |title='Riddled with pellets': Rare swan found alive with eight gunshot wounds |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-08/injured-swan-found-shot-in-tasmanian-great-lakes/100119666 |access-date=2022-05-27}}</ref>