#0805 · 🐦 birds
Black-necked Swan
🇳🇱 Zwarthalszwaan ·Cygnus melancoryphus
7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The black-necked swan ( Cygnus melancoryphus ) is a swan that is the largest waterfowl native to South America.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 23 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 5,873 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named by Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782 (244 years ago).
- Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.
fact sheet
- English
- Black-necked Swan
- Nederlands
- Zwarthalszwaan
- scientific name
- Cygnus melancoryphus
- class
- Aves
- order
- Anseriformes
- family
- Anatidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- in NL
- introduced
- sightings in NL
- 23
- sightings in Europe
- 63
- sightings worldwide
- 5,873
- GBIF records in NL
- 782
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1782 by Juan Ignacio Molina
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Anatidae
#0532 📷 9Mallard
🇳🇱 Wilde Eend
Anas platyrhynchos
LC 👀 9k in NL
#0535 📷 9Greylag Goose
🇳🇱 Grauwe Gans
Anser anser
LC 👀 6.1k in NL
#0537 📷 10Egyptian Goose
🇳🇱 Nijlgans
Alopochen aegyptiaca
LC 👀 5.2k in NL
#0544 📷 9Mute Swan
🇳🇱 Knobbelzwaan
Cygnus olor
LC 👀 3.9k in NL
#0545 📷 8Tufted Duck
🇳🇱 Kuifeend
Aythya fuligula
LC 👀 3.6k in NL
#0555 📷 10Gadwall
🇳🇱 Krakeend
Mareca strepera
LC 👀 2.5k in NL
#0558 📷 10Canada Goose
🇳🇱 Grote Canadese gans
Branta canadensis
LC 👀 2.3k in NL
#0560 📷 10Common Shelduck
🇳🇱 Bergeend
Tadorna tadorna
LC 👀 2.2k in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 72789, Wikidata Q244432, GBIF 2498335, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.