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3 german birds (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Resurie
- Start date
dwatsonbirder
Well-known member
Egyptian, Greylag and Bar-headed geese.
Dortmundbirder
Well-known member
I think the Greylag Goose is a "domestic" Swan Goose X Greylag Hybrid.
dwatsonbirder
Well-known member
You could be right, I didn't click on the full image but it does have a funky bill and some odd growth on the throat.
Sangahyando
Well-known member
Yup. All three are "plastic" unfortunately. The Egyptian Goose might be tick-able as a Category C.
Resurie
Active member
Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean with "plastic"?
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Of domesticated origin, not wild. Escaped from a zoo. :t:
Sangahyando
Well-known member
As Nutcracker said. Unfortunately, most of the waterfowl in public parks in Germany are descended from escapees from zoos or private collections. I believe there is even a colony of Chilean Flamingos not very far from Düsseldorf.
That said, its still possible to watch wild waterfowl, especially now, during the winter. Apart from the usual populations in wetland reserves, there are large numbers of wild geese (Greylag, White-fronted, Barnacle etc.) wintering on meadows along the lower Rhine and other pastures.
edit: the Coot in the background of first picture is a wild bird, though.
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stevethehydra
Well-known member
Or more likely a farm in the case of the domestic Greylag-type (which probably does have some Swan Goose ancestry). Egyptian Geese, while descended from escapes/releases from captivity, are a self-sustaining population in Germany so probably "countable" according to some lists. (They're also ducks rather than geese, genetically speaking, but I guess they are called "geese" because of their size and relatively terrestrial/grazing habits...)
Bar-headed Goose seems to be a fairly common escaped species in much of Europe, but I don't think they are self-sustaining... possibly might become so eventually though? They also seem to hybridise fairly regularly with other (wild or escaped) goose species.
Bar-headed Goose seems to be a fairly common escaped species in much of Europe, but I don't think they are self-sustaining... possibly might become so eventually though? They also seem to hybridise fairly regularly with other (wild or escaped) goose species.
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
Not quite and not that simple. Egyptian Geese are included in the sheldgeese subfamily (Tadorninae), and thus not ducks (subfamilies Anatinae or Aythyinae). On the other hand, "true geese" (Anser, Branta) belong in subfamily Anserinae, which however includes Cygnus swans (and that doesn't make them geese). Finally, as the term "goose" has no scientific value, I guess you can still say Egyptian Geese are geese (in the same way as Chloephaga species, even if not included in subfamily Anserinae).
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadorninae
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatidae
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Dortmundbirder
Well-known member
Bar headed Geese are considered established in Germany (population around Munich) and in the Netherlands as far as I know.
I'd say the domestic Greylag X is a cross between a domestic Toulouse goose given the dewlaps and because of the slight bump at the top of the bill and the darker stripe at the back of the neck a domestic Chinese goose who's ancestor is the Swan Goose..
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