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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, ganzen, ganzerik, New High German Gans, Gänse, and Ganter, and Old Norse gās and gæslingr, whence English gosling.
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).
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. Most modern species in the ...
Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes).Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together, they form the fowl clade which is scientifically known as Galloanserae or Galloanseres (initially termed Galloanseri) (Latin gallus ("rooster") + ānser ...
Anser is a waterfowl genus that includes the grey geese and the white geese.It belongs to the true goose and swan subfamily of Anserinae under the family of Anatidae. [2] The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic and cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in summer.
The Chinese and African Geese are the domestic breeds of the swan goose (A. cygnoides); they can be recognized by their prominent bill knob. [ 1 ] Some breeds, like the Obroshin Goose and Steinbach Fighting Goose , originated in hybrids between these species (the hybrid males are usually fertile – see Haldane's Rule ).
The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus Anser by the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. A mid-sized goose, it measures 71–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length and weighs 1.87–3.2 kg (4.1–7.1 lb).
The specific epithet is Latin meaning "goose". [3] The greylag goose is now one of 11 geese placed in the genus Anser that was erected in 1860 by the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. [4] It is the type species of the genus. [5]