Symbolism
The Swan is often associated with music already through the expression “swan song” but also as a sacred animal associated with Apollo, god of music and poetry. The Yi-king also makes it a symbol of music and singing.
For the white swan, the symbolism of whiteness is ambiguous because it is both solar and nocturnal (lunar white), masculine and feminine. The swan is in fact a hermaphrodite symbol in Greek mythology with the love story of Zeus who transformed into a swan to seduce Leda transformed into a goose… In alchemy it has an archetypal androgynous value.
The black swan is mentioned in Scandinavian folklore, in the form of a curse through Andersen’s tale, The Traveling Companion:
“The princess shrieked aloud when he dipped her under the water the first time, and struggled under his hands in the form of a great black swan with fiery eyes. As she rose the second time from the water, the swan had become white, with a black ring round its neck. John allowed the water to close once more over the bird, and at the same time it changed into a most beautiful princess.”
Another tale of bewitchment in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake with the black swan who becomes the heroine’s evil and fatal double.
More recently, inspired by the Roman poet Juvenal’s expression “a rare bird in the country, rare as a black swan,” the Black Swan theory uses this animal as a symbol of an event that is highly improbable yet has massive consequences. Examples include a financial crisis, the invention of the Internet, or the outbreak of a world war — all perfect illustrations of this concept.
Description
The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) owes its name to the color of its plumage.
It is native to Australia, where it nests in dense colonies, unlike the white swan.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Black Swan was widespread and common throughout Australia. As settlers hunted it for its meat, southern populations collapsed. This large black bird was an easy target, especially during the moulting period, when it is unable to fly. Populations in remote areas continued to thrive, as did those introduced to New Zealand. Thanks to this, once the species was protected, the Black Swan quickly rebuilt its numbers and regained much of its former range. In some regions, its growth has been so strong that culling measures have been introduced to limit crop damage caused by large flocks.
This bird was introduced to France as an ornamental species, but populations have grown so successfully that it is now considered naturalized.
It usually lives in dense colonies but can become aggressive during the breeding season. It is also capable of hybridizing with the mute swan.
The Black Swan is a sedentary bird.
The Black Swan is an aquatic bird that lives in and around lakes, rivers, and swamps, but it can also be found in brackish waters.
It feeds on aquatic plants, dipping its long neck underwater to reach them. On land, it also grazes on various grasses.
They sometimes move into farmland, where they can cause significant damage to crops.
An adult male can weigh up to 9 kilograms and measure as much as 140 centimeters in length, with a wingspan of around 200 centimeters.
Black Swans are believed to mate for life.
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