Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: Brown-headed Goose
- Scientific name: Ruddy-headed Goose, Chloephaga rubidiceps
- Classification: Waterfowl
- Family and genus: Anseriformes, Anatidae, Aperturei
Vital signs data
- Body length: 50-59 cm
- Weight: No verification information available.
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
The Brown-headed Goose is actually a type of Muscovy duck, not a goose.
Distribution and Habitat
They are distributed in South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas Islands).
Brown-headed geese are broadly divided into two groups. One group inhabits southern Chile and the Argentine Patagonia mainland, including flocks that winter in Buenos Aires Province in southern Argentina. The other group is active year-round in the Falkland Islands. While the Falkland Islands group is not threatened, the number of brown-headed geese living on the mainland has declined significantly.
They inhabit high-altitude lakes, freshwater swamps, open grasslands, wetlands, and farmlands in South America, including the coast of the Falkland Islands. Mainland populations migrate to the southern province of Buenos Aires or Tierra del Fuego for the winter, while the Falkland Islands populations do not migrate. Their flight is slow and unpredictable.
Appearance
Body length 50-59 cm. Head and upper neck chestnut; back light grey; underparts light grey with black markings; primary flight feathers black in flight, inner wings white; wing feathers with broad green stripes; tail black; eyes brown with white eyelids; beak relatively short and black; legs orange with black markings; sexually similar, juvenile geese have dull grey plumage with a pattern of light brown and white feathers.
Detailed introduction
The Ruddy-headed Goose (scientific name: Chloephaga rubidiceps) is a bird belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Brown-headed geese frequently inhabit nearby freshwater areas and coastal lagoons. They are primarily terrestrial and not excellent swimmers, raising their chest and hindquarters when entering the water. They are wary and timid, and people cannot approach them; they often fly away or swim away at the sight of humans. They graze near water, foraging mainly on grasses, roots, leaves, stems, seeds, and various aquatic plants.
The brown-headed goose breeds from September to October, typically near the edges of lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes. Nests are built in grassy areas near water, in rock crevices, or in burrows on sandy slopes. Males are highly territorial. Females line the nest with plants, and after laying eggs, they pluck a large amount of down feathers from their own bodies and place them inside. Each clutch contains 5-8 white eggs, with an incubation period of 30 days. The chicks are precocial, able to swim and move around as early as the second day after hatching, and reach sexual maturity at two years old.
Listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Birds, 2009 ver 3.1.
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