The history of Australia’s black swan -

The European arrival to Australia brought many first contacts, one of them was with of black swans. This seemed impossible, because it was already established that swans were white, and only white.

This is a short history on the native black birds.

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Impossible - This was the impossible come true in those days, like flying pigs.

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17th century - During the 17th century, Dutch explorers that touched down in Perth, WA were the first Europeans to set their eyes on the Cygnus atratus, or black swan.

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Discovery - They were amazed and many sources report that explorer Willem de Vlamingh returned with a few birds to Europe, proving their discovery.

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What's in a name - The discovery of black swans inspired the naming of Swan River.

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Emblem - In the 1970s, WA adopted the black swan as its state bird and a part of the coat of arms.

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Fly high - It's also the symbol on the WA flag.

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Southern - Although black swans were first discovered in WA, they reside largely in the southern areas of Australia.

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Nomads - These swans are one of Australia's large waterfowl and tend to be quite nomadic.

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Travel - Native to Australia, these birds were seen as exotic and later introduced around the world.

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Exotic - They were kept as exotic pets, like peacocks, in Europe and North America.

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Classic - Black swans have the classical swan look with the long neck and arched brow.

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Plumage - They have all black plumage, except for the white edge of their wings. They also have curled tail feathers that look like ruffles.

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Bill - They have bright red bills with a white stripe near the tip, and red eyes. While their legs and feet are usually black or dark grey.

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Bank - When swans are on land, they are called a 'bank'.

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Fly - A black swan's neck is the longest in the swan family in proportion to its body. And when it flies its wingspan reaches 160-200cm.

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Feathers - All swan species have white feathers, with five out of the seven species are completely white.

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North - This is because the environment in which the swans live are snowy regions, where they can blend into the snow to avoid predators.

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Black-necked swan - The largest native waterfowl in South America is the black-necked swan, which was another deviation to what was previously believed about swan being white.

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Just mates - Swans are known for their commitment and for mating for life.

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Reproduction - And black swans follow this, however before settling on a mate, females tend to copulate with other males to assure reproduction.

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Focus on the family - Their loyalty to each other and their offspring is fierce, with the parents raising them for up to nine months.

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Babies - The adorable grey fluff balls that are swan babies are called cygnets. Once they are older, they shed their warm grey down and start to grow black plumage.

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Wedge - When a group of black swans fly together, they are called a 'wedge'.

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Folklore - In the Aboriginal dreamtime, the story of Guunyu the black swan lives strong. Guunyu was a a beautiful white swan, humble and trusting. He kept his head bowed and went on his way.

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Birds - When he went to feed in the waterway, getting all the good food because of his long neck. The other birds were jealous and plotted against him.

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Lure - They lured him to the long reeds to kill him. He tucked in his wings tight when they attacked, and he waited for the torment to end, all the while an old crow watched on.

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Torn - Left beaten and bloody, the bird had torn out his beautiful white feathers and scratched his bill. Once they left him for dead, the crow swooped down and began helping Guunyu.

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Shared - The old crow tried to wipe the blood off Guunyu's beak, but it had stained except for a stripe at the tip. And he shared his black feathers for warmth so Guunyu wasn't cold. Now Guunyu was even more beautiful than before.

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Sydney Swans - This year's AFL Indigenous Round saw the Sydney Swans' jersey incorporating the symbolic Aboriginal black swan, Guunyu.

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