I like this postcard because the Black Swan is an icon of Western Australia. The Black Swan is featured on the flag, and is both the state and bird emblem, of Western Australia. It also appears in the Coat of Arms and other iconography of the state's institutions.
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. Black Swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands.
