Pygmy Whistling Goose
| Pygmy Whistling Goose | ||||||||||||
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Pygmy Whistling Geese, Kolkata, India |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dendrocygna javanica | ||||||||||||
| ( Horsfield , 1821) |
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The pygmy whistling goose ( Dendrocygna javanica ) is a species from the subfamily of the whistling geese . Within this subfamily it is the smallest species. It is very common in places and its total population is not oppressed. In Thailand it is one of the most common duck birds. In many areas where rice is grown, however, it is counted as a pest and is therefore hunted.
description
Pygmy whistling geese reach a body weight of 450 to 680 grams. The wing length is between 17 and 20.4 centimeters. They show only a very low gender dimorphism. Males are usually slightly larger than the females. As with many species of whistling geese, the flank feathers are also somewhat elongated in the pygmy whistling geese, but not nearly as strong and conspicuous as in the sickle whistling geese . The belly and rump region are of a strong reddish brown. The back feathers are a dark gray-brown and have a light end border. The long, slim neck and long legs are striking. As with most whistling goose species, they are characterized by an upright posture when they are resting.
Whistling geese not yet sexually mature only have a hint of an eye ring. In adult birds, the eye ring is bright yellow. Their belly and rump are still clay-colored and not yet red-brown as in adult geese.
Pygmy whistling geese are preferentially crepuscular. In this phase they move from their resting places to the feeding grounds even in large flight groups. The loud, whistling flight noises that they generate through the notched inner flag of the 1st hand swing serve as a contact signal within the flight group.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the pygmy whistle includes Southeast Asia. There it inhabits shallow waters densely covered with swimming and underwater plants in both forest and agricultural regions. It is particularly common in areas with large rice-growing areas. In contrast to the sickle whistle geese, which are native to Australia, among others, the rainfall is relatively evenly distributed in the habitat. Therefore there is a lack of pronounced migration. Nevertheless, there are regionally very large accumulations of pygmy whistling geese between the breeding phases.
Attitude in Europe
For around 100 years, pygmy whistle geese have also been kept as water fowl in Europe. However, their imports were always relatively rare until the 1990s. Up until that time, the herds consisted mainly of imported animals. In Europe, it was the Wildfowl Trust that bred pygmy whistling geese for the first time in 1975. The world's first breeding in human care was achieved in California in 1931.
Systematics
The more precise relationships within the whistling geese look like this:
| Whistling Geese (Dendrocygninae) |
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Individual references, literature and web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 67.
literature
- T. Bartlett: Ducks And Geese - A Guide To Management. The Crowood Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85223-650-7 .
- Hartmut Kolbe: The world's ducks. Ulmer Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7442-1 .
Web links
- Dendrocygna javanica inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2013.