These are such beautiful birds, with their wonderfully curled feathers (which you can't really see too well in this image). There are two of them that swim on one of the ponds at the Calgary Zoo. Taken on August 23rd.

"The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage and red bills. They are monogamous breeders that share incubation duties and cygnet rearing between the sexes .... The Black Swan is protected under the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1979. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan