Andean goose
| Andean goose | ||||||||||||
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Andean goose ( Chloephaga melanoptera ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chloephaga melanoptera | ||||||||||||
| ( Eyton , 1838) |
The Andean goose ( Chloephaga melanoptera ) is a bird and belongs to the family of ducks (Anatinae). You are an inhabitant of low-precipitation regions in the high valleys of the Andes and live at an altitude between 3,000 and 5,000 meters. Hunting and habitat destruction are rare in this region. In places where it is not hunted, the Andean goose shows a short distance to escape from humans and grazes between flocks of sheep in the immediate vicinity of farms. The species is not considered to be threatened in its population. However, there are no exact population figures for this species: Their population size was estimated at 25,000 to 100,000 individuals towards the end of the 20th century.
features
The Andean goose reaches a height of 70 to 80 centimeters and weighs 2.5 to 3.5 kilograms. She's not a good flyer. The beak is pink, the feet are red and it has white plumage with black tail feathers and black wing tips. The wings are staggered with black spots. The sexes are similar in plumage color. The female is slightly smaller than the male. The moulting scheme has not yet been adequately described.
There is a gender difference in calling this species. Excited males call whistling. Females, on the other hand, utter dark " knak-knak " calls. While they are grazing, the geese make soft calls for contact. The female calls out a soft " huit-wit-wit ".
distribution
The distribution area is on the plateaus of the Andes at altitudes from about 3000 meters, near mountain lakes or high swamps, in Peru , in the south of Argentina , in the west of Bolivia and in the north of Chile . There she lives in small family groups or in pairs on the edge of the lakes or swamps.
Way of life
The Andean Goose feeds on grasses, various seeds and aquatic plants. Its food plants include candelabrum algae of the genus Chara , plants of the genus Lilaeopsis , milfoil and Nostoc . She spends about 73 percent of her time grazing. The animals ingest about 208 grams of plant material every day.
The ganter shows courtship behavior that includes antagonistic behavior towards conspecifics and other geese. The courtship poses include "marching" in which the feet are strongly raised. The folded wings are spread apart from the body. Aggressive males threaten with flapping wings and rolling head and neck movements. The nest is created in a recess on the ground, usually on the slopes near the lakes, and padded with plants. The clutch consists of 5 to 10 eggs which are hatched over a period of 30 days.
Attitude in Europe
Andean geese were kept at London Zoo for the first time in 1871. This zoo also achieved the world's first breeding in 1915. Since then, they have been one of the animals that are regularly shown in zoos and are occasionally tended by private breeders. Essential knowledge about the way of life of this animal species was gained from animals kept in captivity. They are aggressive towards other geese and are therefore often kept in large individual enclosures. The animals only need a place to bathe, shade in the summer heat and a shelter in wet and cold weather.
The offspring was carried out unsystematically for a long time. The species therefore remained rare in zoo keeping. New animals were usually imported. The Wildfowl Trust began with serious offspring in 1963 . Andean geese that are now kept in European zoos are usually no longer caught in the wild, but come from these breeding programs.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
literature
- Janet Kear (Ed.): Ducks, Geese and Swans. Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0198546459 .
- Hartmut Kolbe: The world's ducks. Ulmer Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7442-1 .
Web links
- Chloephaga melanoptera in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 20 of 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Chloephaga melanoptera in the Internet Bird Collection