Goose

Geese
A Canada Goose
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Subfamily†: Anserinae
Genera Anser Branta Chen
† see also: Swan, Duck Anatidae

Goose is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes the swans, which are mostly larger than geese, and the ducks, which are smaller.

This article deals with the true geese in the subfamily Anserinae. A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to the shelducks, have "goose" as part of their name. For these, see Anatidae.

Geese are medium to large birds, always (with the exception of the nene) associated with water. Most species in Europe, Asia and North America are strongly migratory as wild birds, breeding in the far north and wintering much further south. However, escapes and introductions have led to resident feral populations of several species.

All geese eat an exclusively vegetarian diet, and some can become pests when flocks feed on arable crops.

The following are some goose species.

Genus Anser, Grey Geese

• Greylag Goose Anser anser
• White-fronted Goose A. albifrons
• Lesser White-fronted Goose A. erythropus
• Bean Goose A. fabalis
• Pink-footed Goose A. brachyrhynchus
• Bar-headed Goose A. indicus
• Swan Goose, A. cygnoides

Genus Anser or Chen (depending on authority cited)

• Snow Goose Anser caerulescens or Chen caerulescens
• Ross' Goose, A. rossii or C. rossii
• Emperor Goose, A. canagicus or C. canagica

Genus Branta, Black Geese

• Brent Goose Branta bernicla
• Barnacle Goose B. leucopsis
• Canada Goose B. canadensis
• Red-breasted Goose B. ruficollis
• Néné or Hawaiian Goose, B. sandvicensis

Genus Cereopsis

• Cape Barren Goose, Cereopsis novaehollandiae

The Anseriformes and the Galliformes ( pheasants etc) are ancestral to neognathous birds, and should follow ratites and tinamous in bird classification systems. See the chart below

For further taxonomic detail, see also Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy.

Etymology

Goose in its origins is one of the oldest words of the Indo-European languages, the modern names deriving from the proto-Indo-European root, ghans, hence Sanskrit hamsa (feminine hamsii), Latin anser, Greek khén etc.

In the Germanic languages, the root word led to Old English gos with the plural gés, German Gans and Old Norse gas. Other modern derivatives are Russian gus and Old Irish géiss.

In non-technical use, the male goose is called a "gander" (Anglo-Saxon gandra) and the female is the "goose".

Geese in fiction

There is the goose that laid the golden eggs, warning about the perils of being too greedy. And there is also the poem Goosy Goosy Gander

See also: wildfowl, waterfowl

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Goose can have some other meanings in slang.

• A fool (Common in the works of Wodehouse) or someone who is shy (also goosy/goosey).
• A (usually sexual) attack on the posterior of the body.