Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose

Graylag goose, Wild goose

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Anser anser
Population size
1-1.1 Mln
Life Span
20-30 years
Weight
2-4.5
4.4-9.9
kglbs
kg lbs 
Length
76-89
29.9-35
cminch
cm inch 
Wingspan
147-180
57.9-70.9
cminch
cm inch 

The Greylag goose (Anser anser) is a large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae. Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BC.

Di

Diurnal

He

Herbivore

Gr

Graminivore

Fo

Folivore

Gr

Granivore

Se

Semiaquatic

Wa

Waterfowl

Pr

Precocial

Gr

Grazing

Br

Browsing

Co

Congregatory

Ov

Oviparous

Mo

Monogamy

So

Social

Fl

Flocking

Mi

Migrating

Do

Domesticated

G

starts with

Appearance

The Greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the grey geese of the genus Anser, but is more lightly built and agile than its domestic relative. It has a rotund, bulky body, a thick and long neck, and a large head and bill. It has pink legs and feet, and an orange or pink bill with a white or brown nail (hard horny material at the tip of the upper mandible). The plumage of the Greylag goose is greyish brown, with a darker head and paler breast and belly with a variable amount of black spotting. It has a pale grey forewing and rump which are noticeable when the bird is in flight or stretches its wings on the ground. It has a white line bordering its upper flanks, and its wing coverts are light-colored, contrasting with its darker flight feathers. Its plumage is patterned by the pale fringes of the feathers. Juveniles differ mostly in their lack of black speckling on the breast and belly and by their greyish legs. Adults have a distinctive 'concertina' pattern of folds in the feathers on their necks.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Greylag geese breed in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic States, northern Russia, Poland, eastern Hungary, and Romania. They also breed locally in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and North Macedonia. The eastern race extends eastwards across a broad swathe of Asia to China. European birds migrate southwards to the Mediterranean region and North Africa. Asian birds migrate to Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, and eastward to China. In North America, there are both feral domestic geese, which are similar to greylags, and occasional vagrant greylags. Greylag geese seen in the wild in New Zealand probably originated from the escape of farmyard geese, same as in Australia, where feral birds are now established in the east and southeast of the country. Greylag geese breed on moors with scattered lochs, in marshes, fens, and peat-bogs, besides lakes and on little islands some way out to sea. They like the dense ground cover of reeds, rushes, heather, bushes, and willow thickets. On their wintering grounds, they frequent salt marshes, estuaries, freshwater marshes, steppes, flooded fields, bogs, and pastures near lakes, rivers, and streams. They also visit agricultural land where they feed on crops, moving at night to shoals and sand banks on the coast, mud banks in estuaries, or secluded lakes.

Greylag Goose habitat map

Climate zones

Greylag Goose habitat map
Greylag Goose
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Habits and Lifestyle

Greylag geese are gregarious birds and form flocks. Pairs with young stay together as a family group, migrating southwards in autumn as part of a flock, and separating the following year. Greylag geese are diurnal and forage on the ground or in water. When on land these birds are able to run rapidly and escape predators without difficulty. Greylags have a loud cackling call similar to that of the domestic goose, 'aahng-ung-ung', uttered on the ground or in flight. There are various subtle variations used under different circumstances, and individual geese seem to be able to identify other known geese by their voices. The sound made by a flock of geese resembles the baying of hounds. Goslings chirp or whistle lightly, and adults hiss if threatened or angered.

Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Greylag geese are largely herbivorous (graminivorous) and feed chiefly on grasses. They also eat leaves, berries, water plants, glean grain on cereal stubble, and sometimes feed on growing crops such as oats, wheat, barley, buckwheat, lentils, peas, and root crops. These birds may also consume small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, mollusks, and insects.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
April-May
INCUBATION PERIOD
28 days
INDEPENDENT AGE
8-9 weeks
FEMALE NAME
goose
MALE NAME
gander
BABY NAME
gosling
web.animal_clutch_size
4-6 eggs

Greylag geese are monogamous and mate for life. Breeding season usually occurs in April-May. Greylags nest on the ground among the heather, rushes, dwarf shrubs, or reeds, or on a raft of floating vegetation. The nest is built from pieces of reed, sprigs of heather, grasses, and moss, mixed with small feathers and down. Females lay 4 to 6 creamy-white eggs which soon become stained. The female does the incubation, which lasts about 28 days, while the male remains on guard somewhere near. The goslings are precocial and able to leave the nest soon after hatching. Both parents are involved in their care and they soon learn to peck at food and become fully-fledged at 8 or 9 weeks. Young Greylag geese become reproductively mature when they are 2-3 years old.

Population

Population threats

The main threats to Greylag geese include hunting, poisoning, and destruction and degradation of wetland habitats on which these birds are so dependent. Greylag geese are also persecuted by farmers as they cause serious crop damage and they also suffer from the outbreaks of avian influenza.

Population number

According to the IUCN Red List, the total Greylag goose population size is around 1,000,000-1,100,000 individuals. The European population consists of 259,000-427,000 pairs, which equates to 519,000-853,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are increasing.

Domestication

The Greylag goose was one of the first animals to be domesticated; this happened at least 3000 years ago in Ancient Egypt; the domestic breed is known as A. a. domesticus. As the domestic goose is a subspecies of the Greylag goose they are able to interbreed, and the goslings share characteristics of both the wild and tame birds.

DOMESTICATION STATUS Domesticated

Fun Facts for Kids

  • The genus name of the Greylag goose comes from "anser", which is translated from Latin as "goose".
  • The gregarious nature of Greylag geese has an advantage for the birds; the vigilance of some individuals in the group allows the rest to feed without having to constantly be alert to the approach of predators.
  • After the eggs hatch, some families of Greylags group together which helps the parents to defend their young by their joint actions, such as mobbing or attacking predators. After driving off a predator, a male returns to the female and gives a "triumph call" which sounds like a resonant honk followed by a low-pitched cackle. The female and even unfledged young always reciprocate in kind.
  • In Ancient Egypt, geese symbolized the sun god Ra.
  • In Ancient Greece and Rome, geese were associated with the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Since they were sacred birds, they were kept on Rome's Capitoline Hill, from where they raised the alarm when the Gauls attacked in 390 B.C
  • A long time ago goose feathers were used as quill pens, the best being the primary feathers of the left wing, whose "curvature bent away from the eyes of right-handed writers". The feathers also served to fletch arrows.

Coloring Pages

References

1. Greylag Goose on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greylag_goose
2. Greylag Goose on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679889/131907747
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/706714
4. Video creator - https://avibirds.com

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