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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.
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 ...
The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe.
The greylag goose was one of the first animals to be domesticated; this happened at least 3,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt, the domestic subspecies being known as A. a. domesticus. [7] As the domestic goose is a subspecies of the greylag goose they are able to interbreed, with the offspring sharing characteristics of both wild and domestic ...
The snow goose (Anser caerulescens) is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed in the genus Chen, but is now typically included in the "gray goose" genus Anser. [2] [3]
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).
The African Goose is one of two domestic goose breeds that derive from the wild species Anser cygnoides, the other being the Chinese, to which it is closely related. [9]: 364 [3] Domestication took place in north Asia, and birds of this type were later brought to Europe, possibly via Madagascar; [10] they were present in Britain before the end of the seventeenth century.
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 ).