A black swan (Cygnus atratus) and cygnet

Public Domain Photo: Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) and cygnet, photo by D.M. Vernon, taken in 2006

Black Swans are large water birds of the subgenus of Cygnus, mostly found in Australia, and later introduced in New Zealand, and some other countries. They are primarily black-feathered birds, with white flight feathers. The bill is normally bright red and legs and feet are grayish-black. Males are slightly larger than females, and cygnets (immature birds) are grayish-brown with pale-edged feathers. A fully grown black swan measures 110 cm to 142 cm (43-56 in) in length and weighs 4 to 9 kg (8 to -20 lbs) approximately with wing span of 1.6 to 2 meters.

Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba)

PD Image: Coscoroba Swan at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, England.

The Coscoroba Swan (Binomial name: Coscoroba coscoroba) is a species of waterfowl found in South America. It is the smallest of swans (not a true swan), weighing about 4 kg/ 9 lbs. It belongs to the subfamily Anserinae in which ducks, swans and geese are classified. Coscoroba Swans have an average lifespan of twenty years.

The Coscoroba Swan’s beak, legs and feet are red and it has white plumage with black edges to the wing feathers, which are visible only when they are in flight. Its cygnet is of a patchy color with brown and gray hues.

The Coscoroba Swan breeds in South America from southern Chile and central Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. In winter it migrates to central Chile, northern Argentina, Uruguay and the south east Brazil.

The Coscoroba Swan’s habitat is swamps and lagoons with flourishing vegetation and grass. It feeds on grasses, small water plants, mussels and fishes. The female incubates the eggs, while the male guards the nest and protects the fledglings against predators.

Sculpture of Leda and Swan, Ludwigsburg, Germany

Photo: Sculpture of Leda and Swan (Leda und Schwan) in Baroque garden in Ludwigsburg, Germany, photo by Immanuel Giel taken on 22 June 2006.

Ludwigsburg Palace, located in the city of Ludwigsburg 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of Stuttgart's city center, is one of Germany's largest Baroque palaces featuring an enormous baroque garden. According to Venetian adventurer and author Giacomo Casanova (who is better known as a womanizer that his name remains synonymous with the art of seduction), the Palace was one of the most magnificent courts in Europe in the 18th century.

Leda och svanen, sculpture by Helge Högbom

Photo: Public fountain ‘Leda och svanen’ (Leda and the Swan), sculpture by Helge Högbom, located in central Eslöv, Sweden.

The Forest Pool, painting by Elliot Daingerfield

Image: The Forest Pool (1915) by Elliot Daingerfield

The American painter Elliot Daingerfield (1859-1932) is considered one of the most prolific artists of North Carolina. Elliot was born in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before he moved to New York to study art at the age of 21.

Elliot Daingerfield's works were inspired by the European Symbolist movement, and elements of influences Impressionism and Romanticism can also be observed in his works. Daingerfield's first exhibition was at the National Academy of Design in 1880. In 1971 the North Carolina Museum of Art displayed 200 of Daingerfield's paintings and now the museum displays his works ‘Grand Canyon’ and ‘Evening Glow’.

Image of the painting ‘Leda and the Swan’ by Elliot Daingerfield