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Story: Game birds

Wetland game birds: black swan

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Wetland game birds: black swan

Introduced from Australia, black swans are not commonly targeted by hunters. They are partially protected, and are hunted in season according to regional limits – about 5,000 are shot in New Zealand each year. Their call is a haunting whistle.

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Fish and Game New Zealand

by Warren Keoghan

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How to cite this page

Neil Deans, Game birds – Game birds in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16697/wetland-game-birds-black-swan (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Neil Deans, published 30 October 2009, updated 20 April 2025.