Upland Goose | |
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Conservation status | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Subfamily: | Tadorninae |
Genus: | Chloephaga |
Species: | C. picta |
Binomial name | |
Chloephaga picta (Gmelin, 1789) |
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Subspecies | |
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Synonyms | |
Foetopterus ambiguus |
The Upland Goose or Magellan Goose (Chloephaga picta) is a South American member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae.[1] It is in the shelduck subfamily, Tadorninae. Males have a white head and breast, whereas the females are brown with black-striped wings and yellow feet, and could be mistaken for Ruddy-headed Geese. These birds are 60–72.5 centimetres (24–28.5 in) long and weigh 2.7–3.2 kilograms (6.0–7.1 lb).[2] They are found in open grasslands.
Upland Geese are noted in Chapter VI of The Origin of Species for having vestigial webbing between their toes.