Black Swan vs White-headed Duck
Cygnus atratus compared with Oxyura leucocephala
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Black Swan | White-headed Duck |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Cygnus atratus | Oxyura leucocephala |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Endangered |
| Length | 130.0 cm (51.2 in) | — |
| Wingspan | 190.0 cm (74.8 in) | 29.7 cm (11.7 in) |
| Weight | 6200.0 g (218.70 oz) | 705.0 g (24.87 oz) |
| Diet | Aquatic vegetation and algae, supplemented with grain and pasture grasses. Feeds by upending in shallow … | Dives for aquatic invertebrates, seeds, and plant roots in Mediterranean and Central Asian wetlands. Critically … |
| Clutch Size | 4-6 | 3-10 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Black Swan
Lakes, rivers, swamps, and coastal waters across Australia. Also found in ornamental lakes in parks.
Song & Call Comparison
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.
White-headed Duck
Male produces a mechanical, rapid bill-drumming; female gives a harsh, grating quack. The drumming staccato display is the same pattern as other Oxyura stiff-tails; heard on Eurasian steppe lakes.
Geographic Range & Migration
Black Swan
Australia, primarily in the southeast and southwest. Introduced populations in New Zealand, Japan, and western Europe.
White-headed Duck
Breeds in Spain, Turkey, central Asia, and Mongolia. Winters in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and northern India. Globally endangered.
Conservation Status
Black Swan
White-headed Duck
How to Tell Them Apart
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
White-headed Duck
Male has entirely white head with small black crown patch, rich chestnut-brown body, and large bulbous powder-blue bill. Female is brown with pale whitish face divided by dark streak across …
About These Birds
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.
White-headed Duck
A stiff-tailed duck (~705 g) of family Anatidae, males with a distinctive white head and swollen blue bill. Breeds on brackish and freshwater lakes in Spain and Central Asia; winters in Mediterranean and Central Asian wetlands. Dives for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. Endangered due to hunting, hybridization with introduced Ruddy Duck, and wetland loss.