Pacific Black Duck vs Black Swan
Anas superciliosa compared with Cygnus atratus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Pacific Black Duck | Black Swan |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anas superciliosa | Cygnus atratus |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | 130.0 cm (51.2 in) |
| Wingspan | 50.2 cm (19.8 in) | 190.0 cm (74.8 in) |
| Weight | 1000.5 g (35.29 oz) | 6200.0 g (218.70 oz) |
| Diet | Dives for fish and aquatic invertebrates; serrated bill adapted for gripping prey; diet varies with … | Aquatic vegetation and algae, supplemented with grain and pasture grasses. Feeds by upending in shallow … |
| Clutch Size | 3-15 | 4-6 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Pacific Black Duck
Freshwater and brackish wetlands across Australasia and the Pacific Islands, from freshwater lakes and rivers to coastal estuaries, mangroves, and irrigated agricultural areas. Highly adaptable to human-modified landscapes.
Black Swan
Lakes, rivers, swamps, and coastal waters across Australia. Also found in ornamental lakes in parks.
Song & Call Comparison
Pacific Black Duck
Female gives a loud, emphatic quacking series; male utters a soft quip note. Common call is a loud, repeated quack; alarm is an insistent, rattling quacking burst.
Black Swan
Gives a musical bugling 'boo-boo-boo' in flight and softer honking on water. Less vocal than Mute Swan; produces a baying call when alarmed. Wings whistle softly in flight.
Geographic Range & Migration
Pacific Black Duck
Found across sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar; locally sedentary in freshwater lakes and rivers year-round.
Black Swan
Australia, primarily in the southeast and southwest. Introduced populations in New Zealand, Japan, and western Europe.
Conservation Status
Pacific Black Duck
Black Swan
How to Tell Them Apart
Pacific Black Duck
Brownish-black body with pale buff feather edges giving scaly appearance. Bold pale buff supercilium and dark eye-stripe and crown stripe on paler face. Iridescent green speculum. Gray bill; orange legs. …
Black Swan
Almost entirely black with white flight feathers visible in flight. Red bill with a white band near the tip. Dark red to reddish-brown iris.
Bright red bill with a pale tip and prominent white band
About These Birds
Pacific Black Duck
A large brown dabbling duck with a distinctive bold head pattern: dark crown, buff cheeks with two dark stripes, and a green speculum. The Mallard equivalent in Australasia. Widespread and common in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and Pacific islands. Very tolerant of human presence.
Black Swan
The black swan was once considered impossible by Europeans who believed all swans were white, making it a famous philosophical example of inductive reasoning failure. It is the state emblem of Western Australia. Black swans form lifelong pair bonds and both parents share in incubation and care of cygnets.