Everything about Greylag Goose totally explained
The
Greylag Goose,
Anser anser, is a
bird with a wide range in the
Old World. It is the
type species of the
genus Anser.
It was in pre-
Linnean times known as the
Wild Goose ("Anser ferus"). This species is the ancestor of
domesticated geese in
Europe and
North America. Flocks of
feral birds derived from domesticated birds are widespread.
The Greylag Goose is one of the species to which the
Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (
AEWA) applies.
Physical appearance
The Greylag is a large
goose, 74–84 cm (29–33 in) long with a 149–168 cm (59–66 in) wingspan and a body weight of 2.3–5.5 kg (5–12 lbs). It has a large head and almost triangular bill. The legs are pink, and the bird is easily identified in flight by the pale leading edge to the wing. It has a loud cackling call,
kiYAAA-ga-ga, like the domestic goose.
The western European nominate subspecies,
A. a. anser, has an orange-pink bill and is slightly smaller and darker than the pink-billed Asian race,
A. a. rubrirostris. Eastern European birds are often intermediate in appearance.
Range and habitat
This species is found throughout the Old World, apparently breeding where suitable localities are to be found in many European countries, although it no longer breeds in southwestern Europe. Eastwards it extends across
Asia to
China.
The geese are
migratory, moving south or west in winter, but Scottish breeders, some other populations in northwestern Europe, and feral flocks are largely resident. This species is one of the last to migrate, and it's thought that "greaylag" signifies in
English "late", "last", or "slow", as in
laggard, a loiterer, or old terms such as
lagman, the last man,
lagteeth, the posterior molar or "wisdom" teeth (as the last to appear), and
lagclock, a clock that's behind time. Thus the Greylag Goose is the grey goose, which in England when the name was given, wasn't strongly migratory but lagged behind the other wild goose species when they left for their northern breeding quarters.
In
Great Britain their numbers have declined as a breeding bird, retreating north to breed wild only in the
Outer Hebrides and the northern mainland of
Scotland. However during the 20th century, feral populations have been established elsewhere, and they've now re-colonised much of
England. The breeding habitat is a variety of wetlands including marshes, lakes, and damp heather moors.
Within science, the greylag goose is most notable as being the bird with which the
ethologist Konrad Lorenz first did his major studying into the behavioural phenomenon of
imprinting.
North America
In North America, small populations of Greylag Geese descended from domesticated geese have become established, mostly in city parks and near humans. These geese usually exist as part of larger flocks of
Canada Geese. The Greylag Goose can
hybridize with the native Canada Goose, producing birds which can be puzzling to birders attempting to identify them.
Notes and references
Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concernFurther Information
Get more info on 'Greylag Goose'.
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