These courageous black swans fought a raven after it attempted to attack their cygnets in Australia.

The clip, filmed in August 2018 shows the swans snapping at the raven as it attempts to attack their children.

Nature enthusiast Bob Humphries explained to Newsflare: "The cygnets began feeding on waterweeds with their mother, then followed her on to the grass by the lake to graze. All of a sudden, an Australian Raven swooped in and tried to grab one of the cygnets.

"Both swan parents responded immediately, one sheltered the cygnets while the other lunged at the raven with its bill and repelled it with open wings. The swan parents took turns, one protecting their babies while the other fended off the attacking raven.

"The raven attack went on for over 20 minutes, at one point the raven was dive-bombed by a red wattlebird, a large type of honeyeater. The swans then escorted their cygnets back to the safety of the water." he continued.

The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is the only swan native to Australia and is mostly found in the southeast and southwest of the continent. Black Swans are monogamous and usually breed in permanent, well-vegetated wetlands. This Black Swan family and their four newly-hatched cygnets were on Herdsman Lake in metropolitan Perth. The cygnets began feeding on waterweeds with their mother, then followed her on to the grass by the lake to graze. All of a sudden, an Australian Raven swooped in and tried to grab one of the cygnets. Both Swan parents responded immediately – one sheltered the cygnets while the other lunged at the Raven with its bill and repelled it with open wings. The Swan parents took turns – one protecting their babies while the other fended off the attacking Raven. The Raven attack went on for over 20 minutes – at one point the Raven was dive-bombed by a Red Wattlebird, a large type of honeyeater. The Swans then escorted their cygnets back to the safety of the water.