Goose
Encyclopedia
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family
Anatidae
. This family also includes swan
s, most of which are larger than true geese, and duck
s, which are smaller.
A number of other waterbirds, mostly related to the shelduck
s, have "goose" as part of their name.
The word Goose is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European
root, *ghans-. In Germanic languages, the root gave Old English gōs with the plural gēs and gandra (becoming Modern English goose, geese, and gander, respectively), New High German
Gans, Gänse, and Ganter and Old Norse
gās. This term also gave Lithuanian
žąsìs, Irish
gé (goose, from Old Irish géiss), Latin
anser, Greek chēn, Albanian
gatë (heron), Sanskrit
hans, Avestan zāō, Polish
gęś, Russian
гусь, Czech
husa, Slovak
hus, and Persian
ghāz.
The term goose applies to the female in particular while gander applies to the male in particular. Young birds before fledging are called goslings. The collective noun for group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump.
of true geese: Anser
, grey geese, including the domesticated goose
and the Swan Goose
; Chen
, white geese (often included in Anser); and Branta
, black geese, such as the Canada goose
.
Two genera of "geese" are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae
; they may belong to the shelduck
s or form a subfamily on their own: Cereopsis, the Cape Barren Goose, and Cnemiornis
, the prehistoric New Zealand Goose.
Either these or, more probably, the goose-like Coscoroba Swan
is the closest living relative of the true geese.
Fossil
s of true geese are hard to assign to genus; all that can be said is that their fossil record, particularly in North America
, is dense and comprehensively documents many different species of true geese that have been around since about 10 million years ago in the Miocene
. The aptly named Anser atavus (meaning "Great-great-great-grandfather goose") from some 12 million years ago had even more plesiomorphies in common with swans. In addition, there are some goose-like birds known from subfossil
remains found on the Hawaiian Islands
.
Geese are monogamous, living in permanent pairs throughout the year; however, unlike most other permanently monogamous animals, they are territorial only during the short nesting season. Paired geese are more dominant and feed more, two factors that result in more young.
There are a number of mainly southern hemisphere
birds called "geese", most of which belong to the shelduck
subfamily Tadorninae
. These are:
The Blue-winged Goose
, Cyanochen cyanopterus belongs either to these, or to lineage closer to ducks.
The Spur-winged Goose
, Plectropterus gambensis, is most closely related to the shelducks, but distinct enough to warrant its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae.
The three species of small waterfowl in the genus Nettapus are named "pygmy geese", e.g. the Cotton Pygmy Goose
(N. javanica). They seem to represent an ancient lineage like the Cape Barren Goose and the Spur-winged Goose.
A genus of prehistorically extinct seaducks, Chendytes, is sometimes called "diving-geese" due to their large size.
The unusual Magpie Goose is in a family of its own, the Anseranatidae.
The Northern Gannet
, a seabird, is also known as the "Solan Goose" although it is a bird unrelated to the true geese, or any other Anseriformes
for that matter.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Anatidae
Anatidae
Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
. This family also includes swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s, most of which are larger than true geese, and duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, which are smaller.
A number of other waterbirds, mostly related to the shelduck
Shelduck
The shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans....
s, have "goose" as part of their name.
Etymology
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
root, *ghans-. In Germanic languages, the root gave Old English gōs with the plural gēs and gandra (becoming Modern English goose, geese, and gander, respectively), New High German
New High German
New High German is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language. It is a translation of the German Neuhochdeutsch...
Gans, Gänse, and Ganter and Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
gās. This term also gave Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
žąsìs, Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
gé (goose, from Old Irish géiss), Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
anser, Greek chēn, Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
gatë (heron), Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
hans, Avestan zāō, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
gęś, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
гусь, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
husa, Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
hus, and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
ghāz.
The term goose applies to the female in particular while gander applies to the male in particular. Young birds before fledging are called goslings. The collective noun for group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump.
True geese
There are three living generaGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of true geese: Anser
Anser (genus)
The waterfowl genus Anser includes all grey geese and sometimes the white geese. It belongs to the true geese and swan subfamily . The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic and cool temperate regions of the Northern...
, grey geese, including the domesticated goose
Domesticated goose
Domestic geese are domesticated Grey geese kept as poultry for their meat, eggs, and down feathers since ancient times.-Origins and characteristics:...
and the Swan Goose
Swan Goose
The Swan Goose is a rare large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and southeastern Russia. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China...
; Chen
Chen (genus)
The white geese are a small group of waterfowl which are united in the genus or subgenus Chen, in the true geese and swan subfamily Anserinae. They breed on subarctic areas of North America and around the Bering Strait, migrating south in winter....
, white geese (often included in Anser); and Branta
Branta
The black geese of the genus Branta are waterfowl belonging to the true geese and swans subfamily Anserinae. They occur in the northern coastal regions of the Palearctic and all over North America, migrating to more southernly coasts in winter, and as resident birds in the Hawaiian Islands...
, black geese, such as the Canada goose
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
.
Two genera of "geese" are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae
Anserinae
The Anserinae is a subfamily in the waterfowl family Anatidae. It includes the swans and true geese. Under alternative systematical concepts , it is split into two subfamilies, the Anserinae containing the geese , while the Cygninae contain the swans.A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to...
; they may belong to the shelduck
Shelduck
The shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans....
s or form a subfamily on their own: Cereopsis, the Cape Barren Goose, and Cnemiornis
Cnemiornis
The New Zealand Geese formed the extinct genus Cnemiornis of the family Anatidae, subfamily Anserinae.The genus, endemic to New Zealand, consisted of two species: the North Island Goose, C. gracilis and the South Island Goose C. calcitrans...
, the prehistoric New Zealand Goose.
Either these or, more probably, the goose-like Coscoroba Swan
Coscoroba Swan
The Coscoroba Swan is a species of waterfowl inhabiting southern South America. It is the smallest of the birds called "swans", but still a large species of waterfowl, averaging 4.2 kg , 1 m long and 1.57 m across the wings...
is the closest living relative of the true geese.
Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s of true geese are hard to assign to genus; all that can be said is that their fossil record, particularly in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, is dense and comprehensively documents many different species of true geese that have been around since about 10 million years ago in the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
. The aptly named Anser atavus (meaning "Great-great-great-grandfather goose") from some 12 million years ago had even more plesiomorphies in common with swans. In addition, there are some goose-like birds known from subfossil
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
remains found on the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
.
Geese are monogamous, living in permanent pairs throughout the year; however, unlike most other permanently monogamous animals, they are territorial only during the short nesting season. Paired geese are more dominant and feed more, two factors that result in more young.
Other birds called "geese"
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
birds called "geese", most of which belong to the shelduck
Shelduck
The shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans....
subfamily Tadorninae
Tadorninae
The Tadorninae is the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans....
. These are:
- Orinoco GooseOrinoco GooseThe Orinoco Goose is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae, and is the only living member of the genus Neochen...
, Neochen jubata - Egyptian GooseEgyptian GooseThe Egyptian Goose is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae, and is the only extant member of the genus Alopochen...
, Alopochen aegyptiacus - The South American sheldgeeseSheldgooseThe sheldgeese are a genus of birds in the family Anatidae.- Species :* Andean Goose, Chloephaga melanoptera* Upland Goose or Magellan Goose, Chloephaga picta* Kelp Goose, Chloephaga hybrida...
, genus Chloephaga - The prehistoricLate Quaternary prehistoric birdsPrehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists...
Madagascar Sheldgoose, Centrornis majori, the "Woodard"
The Blue-winged Goose
Blue-winged Goose
The Blue-winged Goose is a waterfowl species which is endemic to Ethiopia. It is the only member of the genus Cyanochen.- Relations :...
, Cyanochen cyanopterus belongs either to these, or to lineage closer to ducks.
The Spur-winged Goose
Spur-winged Goose
The Spur-winged Goose is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae...
, Plectropterus gambensis, is most closely related to the shelducks, but distinct enough to warrant its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae.
The three species of small waterfowl in the genus Nettapus are named "pygmy geese", e.g. the Cotton Pygmy Goose
Cotton Pygmy Goose
The Cotton Pygmy Goose or the Cotton Teal, Nettapus coromandelianus is a small perching duck which breeds in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, southeast Asia and south to northern Australia.-Description:...
(N. javanica). They seem to represent an ancient lineage like the Cape Barren Goose and the Spur-winged Goose.
A genus of prehistorically extinct seaducks, Chendytes, is sometimes called "diving-geese" due to their large size.
The unusual Magpie Goose is in a family of its own, the Anseranatidae.
The Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet
The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
, a seabird, is also known as the "Solan Goose" although it is a bird unrelated to the true geese, or any other Anseriformes
Anseriformes
The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...
for that matter.
See also
- Angel WingAngel WingAngel Wing also known as Slipped Wing, crooked wing, or drooped wing is a disease that affects waterfowl, primarily geese and ducks, in which the last joint of the wing is twisted with the wing feathers pointing out laterally, instead of lying against the body...
– A disease common in geese. - Domestic goose, which includes cooking and folklore
- Flying Geese ParadigmFlying Geese ParadigmThe Flying Geese Paradigm is a view of Japanese scholars upon the technological development in Southeast Asia viewing Japan as a leading power. It was developed in the 1930s, but gained wider popularity in the 1960s after its author Kaname Akamatsu published his ideas in the Journal of Developing...
- List of goose breeds
- WaterfowlWaterfowlWaterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
- Wildfowl
External links
- Goose videos on the Internet Bird Collection