Graylag goose, Wild goose
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.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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GranivoreSeed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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WaterfowlWaterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans. They ...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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DomesticatedDomesticated animals are those adapted to live with humans. It is the mutual relationship between animals and humans who have an influence on their...
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starts withThe 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...