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The ducks, geese, and swans are small- to large-sized birds with a broad and elongated general body plan. [2] Diving species vary from this in being rounder. Extant species range in size from the cotton pygmy goose , at as little as 26.5 cm (10.5 in) and 164 g (5.8 oz), to the trumpeter swan , at as much as 183 cm (6 ft) and 17.2 kg (38 lb).
Egyptian geese in the wild can live for up to 15 years, while captive individuals have been recorded reaching an age of 35. [ 16 ] The voices and vocalisations of the sexes differ, the male having a hoarse, subdued duck-like quack which seldom sounds unless it is aroused, as well as a louder, breathy call which is performed in a rapid sequence ...
The word "goose" is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns.In Germanic languages, the root gave Old English gōs with the plural gēs and gandra (becoming Modern English goose, geese, gander, respectively), West Frisian goes, gies and guoske, Dutch: gans, New High German Gans, Gänse, and Ganter, and Old Norse gās and gæslingr, whence English gosling.
"Poultry" can be defined as domestic fowls, including chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks, raised for the production of meat or eggs and the word is also used for the flesh of these birds used as food. [7] The Encyclopædia Britannica lists the same bird groups but also includes guinea fowl and squabs (young pigeons). [13]
It is probable that duck eggs were gathered by Neolithic hunter-gathers as well, though hard evidence of this is uncommon. [35] [42] In many areas, wild ducks (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, [43] by shooting, or by being trapped using duck decoys. Because an idle floating duck or a duck ...
Geese have also been strongly selected for fecundity, with females laying up to 500 eggs per year, compared to 5–12 eggs for a wild goose. [3] [5] As most domestic geese display little sexual dimorphism, sexing is based primarily on physical characteristics and behaviour. Males are typically taller and larger than females, and have longer ...
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.
The spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis) is a large, Sub-Saharan African waterbird in the family Anatidae, which includes geese and shelducks.However, P. gambensis developed unique environmental adaptations, which resulted in the evolution of several anatomical features that are not shared with other anatids; thus, the species has been classified one step further into its own subfamily ...