Bird’s ID – Domestic Goose | H.J. Ruiz

Domestic Geese (Anser anser domesticus or Anser cygnoides domesticus) are domesticated grey geese (either greylag geese or swan geese) that are kept by humans as poultry for their meat, eggs, and down feathers since ancient times.

In Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, the original domesticated geese are derived from the greylag goose (Anser anser). In eastern Asia, the original domesticated geese are derived from the swan goose (Anser cygnoides); these are commonly known as Chinese geese. Both have been widely introduced in more recent times, and modern flocks in both areas (and elsewhere, such as Australia and North America) may consist of either species or hybrids between them. Chinese geese may be readily distinguished from European geese by the large knob at the base of the bill, though hybrids may exhibit every degree of variation between the two species.

Photo Gallery (Swan Goose)

12 thoughts on “Bird’s ID – Domestic Goose”

Jet Eliot on September 18, 2019 at 9:55 am said:

Very informative, HJ.

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- H.J. for avian101 on September 18, 2019 at 6:43 pm said:
  
  Thank you, Jet. 🙂
  
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bayphotosbydonna on September 18, 2019 at 2:00 pm said:

Nicely captured, HJ! 🙂

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- H.J. for avian101 on September 18, 2019 at 6:47 pm said:
  
  Thank you, Donna. 🙂
  
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Clare Pooley on September 18, 2019 at 6:40 pm said:

Very interesting, HJ. lovely gallery of shots.

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- H.J. for avian101 on September 18, 2019 at 7:01 pm said:
  
  I’m sure you must have many of them in your area. No?
  Thank you, Clare. 🙂
  
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  - Clare Pooley on September 20, 2019 at 7:06 pm said:
    
    We don’t have the Swan Goose here and I’ve never seen them except on your blog, HJ! 🙂
aussiebirder on September 18, 2019 at 6:52 pm said:

Interesting Lee. Trouble is we are starting to see these Northern Hemisphere geese being released into our National Parks when people discard them and they compete with our waterbirds as they are quite aggressive.

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- H.J. for avian101 on September 18, 2019 at 7:08 pm said:
  
  I wasn’t aware of that. These geese are large and prolific! Thank you, Ashley for sharing, I appreciate it. 🙂
  
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  - aussiebirder on September 18, 2019 at 9:06 pm said:
    
    They are not in large numbers yet as much as the Greylag goose is becoming but we are seeing more non natives where they should not be
tanjabrittonwriter on September 20, 2019 at 5:30 pm said:

Just a few days ago, on of these white Chinese Geese started to show up at one the ponds I visit regularly. I am fairly sure that someone released it there, someone who once thought they wanted it, but then changed their mind.
I find that very shabby, and I hope the goose will be able to survive on its own.

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- H.J. for avian101 on September 20, 2019 at 6:55 pm said:
  
  That’s what most likely happened. Because the are not migratory birds and people have them for their meat. He/she may joint Canada geese and survive. I’ve seen this happen before. ThanksTanja for sharing. 🙂
  
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