New Zealand Swan

The New Zealand Swan ( Cygnus atratus sumnerensis ) is an extinct swan, whose fossil remains they have, Christchurch found on the Chatham Islands and in a cave in Moncks Cave Reserve on the South Island of New Zealand. Due to the slightly larger subfossil bones, probably dating from the 16th century or 17th century, he was described as being different from the Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus ), which was introduced in 1864 from New Zealand. More recent analyzes, however, showed that it is a subspecies of the Mourning swan. The habitat of this little-known species were lagoons, lakes, swamps and marshes. Like its Australian cousin, he was ground-nesting birds and fed on aquatic plants such as the balances of plants but also of ground herbs. His weight was about 3.5 kg. He reacted very sensitive to disturbance and that its extinction is probably due to the extensive collecting eggs during the breeding season and the hunting by the Maori during the moult.