Emperor goose

Emperor goose
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anser
Species: A. canagicus
Binomial name
Anser canagicus
(Sevastianov, 1802)
Synonyms

Chen canagica
Philacte canagica

Emperor geese at Adak Island

The emperor goose (Anser canagicus) is a species of goose. It breeds around the Bering Sea, mostly in Alaska, United States, but also in Kamchatka, Russia. It is migratory, wintering mainly in the Aleutian Islands. The species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

Head stained orange

This goose has a stout gray body, subtly barred with fine barring, and a white head and hindneck, often stained orange from iron-rich waters. Unlike the blue-morph snow goose, the white does not extend onto the front of the neck. The sexes are similar, but immatures have the head the same color as the body.

This species is much less gregarious than most geese, usually occurring in family groups. It breeds on coastal tundra, laying 3–7 eggs in a ground nest.

Breeding birds molt near the breeding colonies, but non-breeders move to St. Lawrence Island to molt prior to the main migration to the rocky coastlines of the wintering grounds.

The food of this goose is typically composed of shoreline grasses and other coastal plants.

 Sound of the emperor goose. 

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Anser canagicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
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