Steve Parish

Endemic to Australia, the delightful and very popular black swan can be found singly or in loose companies numbering hundreds or even thousands. They are monogamous breeders and are unusual in that one-quarter of all pairings are homosexual, mostly between males. During the mating season, they become flamboyant flirts performing mutual pecking, grooming and neck flexing. Gorgeous to watch. As a boy, I lived close to the River Torrens in Adelaide, rode my bike down, and watched them; interestingly, this image was created on that same river many decades later.