- Chloephaga poliocephala
Identification
Length: 50-55cm. (19¾-21¾ in.)
- Pale brown back
- Chestnut neck
- Black-barred white flanks
- Grey head
Sexes similar, except that the male may have less or no barring on the underparts. Females average smaller.
- Immature birds are duller and have brown heads.
Flight
White wing shows black primaries, and a broad green bar.
Distribution
Southern South America: found in southern Argentina and southern Chile to Tierra del Fuego. Migrates north in winter.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Damp upland forest clearings.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is close to water where trees are present. It may be on the ground in tall grass, at the base of a tree, or in a hole in log. Sometimes it is placed fairly high, up to four meters above the ground. The nest is lined with grass and covered with a second thick lining of down. Clutch of 4-6 creamy-white to pale brown eggs are laid.
Diet
They are mainly vegetarian, feeding on leaves, stems and seed heads of grasses and sedges. On the wintering grounds, they often graze on wheat, maize, sunflower and sorghum stubble.
Vocalisations
Male gives soft whistles and the female produces harsh cackling notes.
Movements
Partially migratory, moving north to winter in the pampas region to Buenos Aires province.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Wikipedia contributors. (2018, August 31). Ashy-headed goose. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:50, January 18, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ashy-headed_goose&oldid=857374513
- Carboneras, C. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Ashy-headed Goose (Chloephaga poliocephala). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52831 on 18 January 2019).
- Ashy-headed Goose (Chloephaga poliocephala), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/ashgoo1
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Ashy-headed Goose. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ashy-headed_Goose
