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Goose

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                  iGeese
   A group of Canada Geese
   A group of Canada Geese
         Scientific classification

   Kingdom:   Animalia
   Phylum:    Chordata
   Class:     Aves
   Order:     Anseriformes
   Family:    Anatidae
   Subfamily: Anserinae

                                   Genera

   see text

   Goose (plural geese) is the general English name for a considerable
   number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also
   includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which
   are smaller.

   This article deals with the true geese in the subfamily Anserinae,
   tribe Anserini. A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to the
   shelducks, have "goose" as part of their name.

   True geese are medium to large birds, always (with the exception of the
   Nēnē) associated to a greater or lesser extent with water. Most species
   in Europe, Asia and North America are strongly migratory as wild birds,
   breeding in the far north and wintering much further south. However,
   escapes and introductions have led to resident feral populations of
   several species.

   Geese have been domesticated for centuries. In the West, farmyard geese
   are descended from the Greylag, but in Asia the Swan Goose has been
   farmed for at least as long.

   All geese eat a largely vegetarian diet, and can become pests when
   flocks feed on arable crops or inhabit ponds or grassy areas in urban
   environments. They also take invertebrates if the opportunity presents
   itself; domestic geese will try out most novel food items for
   edibility.

   Geese usually mate for life, though a small number will "divorce" and
   remate. They tend to lay a smaller number of eggs than ducks, however,
   both parents protect the nest and young, which usually results in a
   higher survival rate for the young geese.
   Greylag Geese flying.
   Enlarge
   Greylag Geese flying.

   Not all couples are heterosexual, as both females and males will form
   long-term same-sex couples with greater or lesser frequency depending
   on species (Bagemihl, 1999). Of the heterosexual couples, a significant
   proportion are non-breeding despite having an active sexual life. See
   Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, and Snow Goose

Prey

   The following are prey of the goose:

   1. Little children who get too close to them at local playgrounds. 2.
   Fabio

True geese

   The following are the living genera of true geese:
     * Anser - Grey Geese, including the domesticated goose and the Swan
       Goose
     * Chen - White Geese (often included in Anser)
     * Branta - Black Geese

   The following two genera are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae;
   they may belong to the shelducks or form a subfamily on their own:
     * Cereopsis - Cape Barren Goose
     * Cnemiornis - New Zealand Geese ( prehistoric)

   In addition, there are some goose-like birds known from subfossil
   remains found on the Hawaiian Islands. See Anserinae for more.

Other species called "geese"

   There are a number of mainly southern hemisphere birds called "geese",
   most of which belong to the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. These are:
   A flock of wild geese
   Enlarge
   A flock of wild geese
     * Blue-winged Goose, Cyanochen cyanopterus
     * Orinoco Goose, Neochen jubata
     * Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus
     * The South American sheldgeese, genus Chloephaga
     * The prehistoric Madagascar Sheldgoose, Centrornis majori

   A genus of prehistorically extinct seaducks, Chendytes, is sometimes
   called "diving-geese" due to their large size.

   The Spur-winged Goose, Plectropterus gambensis, is most closely related
   to the shelducks, but distinct enough to warrant its own subfamily, the
   Plectropterinae.

   The three perching ducks in the genus Nettapus are named "pygmy geese",
   such as the Cotton Pygmy Goose, Nettapus javanica.

   The unusual Magpie-goose is in a family of its own, the Anseranatidae.

Etymology

   Canada Goose gosling
   Enlarge
   Canada Goose gosling

   Goose in its origins is one of the oldest words of the Indo-European
   languages, the modern names deriving from the proto-Indo-European root,
   ghans, hence Sanskrit hamsa (feminine hamsii), Latin anser, Greek khén
   etc.

   In the Germanic languages, the root word led to Old English gos with
   the plural gés, German Gans and Old Norse gas. Other modern derivatives
   are Russian gus and Old Irish géiss; the family name of the cleric Jan
   Hus is derived from the Czech derivative husa.

   In non-technical use, the male goose is called a "gander" (Anglo-Saxon
   gandra) and the female is the "goose" ( Webster's Revised Unabridged
   Dictionary (1913)); young birds before fledging are known as
   "goslings". A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle; when
   flying in formation, it is called a wedge or a skein. See also List of
   collective nouns for birds.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
