- Chloephaga melanoptera
Identification
White body, black in wings and tail, tiny pink bill with a black tip, salmon pink legs and feet.
Sexes similar, but female considerably smaller.
Unlikely to be seen in areas where other mostly white waterfowl occur.
Distribution
Andes of southern Peru to north-western Argentina and central Chile
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Sometimes placed in genus Oressochen together with Orinoco Goose.
Habitat
Wetlands in the high Andes, especially bogs with high levels of vegetation, but also near lakes and rarely marches. In winter migrates to lower elevation, often on flooded fields.
Behaviour
Often seen grazing on dry land, but always near or in wetlands. Descriptions stating that they never swim seems exaggerated[4].
Diet
The diet includes grasses and aquatic plants.
Breeding
It nests on the ground in a bare scrape on a cliff near water, laying 6-10 eggs.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Wikipedia
- Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
- Gallery Image with comment about swimming Andean Goose
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Andean Goose. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Andean_Goose
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
