You just know who owns the pond when you watch this fellow glide across the water. Magnificent birds and this one exudes elegance with every feather on its body. Black Swan facts: Before European explorers had reached Australia, it was believed that all swans were white. Dutch mariner, Antounie Caen, was the first to be amazed at the sight of Australia’s Black swans on the Shark Bay in 1636. Explorer Willem de Vlamingh captured two of these creatures on Australia’s Swan River and returned with them to Europe to prove their existence.