Orinoco goose
Orinoco goose | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Genus: | Neochen |
Species: | N. jubata
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Binomial name | |
Neochen jubata (Spix, 1825)
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Synonyms | |
The Orinoco goose (Neochen jubata) is a
Taxonomy and systematics
The Orinoco goose's taxonomy is unsettled. The
Two fossil relatives have been described from Pleistocene sites in South America, Neochen pugil and N. debilis.[8]
The Orinoco goose is
Description
The Orinoco goose is 61 to 76 cm (24 to 30 in) long. Males weigh about 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) and females about 1.3 kg (2.9 lb). Adult males have an off-white head, neck, and breast with slight buffy streaks on the nape and buffy scalloping on the breast. Their mantle is gray with white scalloping. They have an orange band across the upper mantle and onto the sides of the breast and flanks and a crescent of dark brown behind the flanks. Their undertail coverts are white. Their wings are black with a wide white speculum. Also, their bill has a black maxilla and a mostly red mandible and their legs and feet are bright salmon red. Adult females have a similar pattern as the males but have a drab wash on their crown and nape, less orange on the flanks, and darker scalloping on the sides of the belly. Their legs and feet are more a dull orange than bright red.[8]
Distribution and habitat
The Orinoco goose is found from Venezuela south through Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and Bolivia into far northern Argentina and in a broad swath across central Brazil. An isolated population spans the northern
The Orinoco goose inhabits wet savanna and the edges of large freshwater wetlands in the wet season and in the dry season, it is also found on river beaches and
Behavior
Migration
The Orinoco goose is a year-round resident of the
The migration of Orinoco geese may spread disease. Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are both apicomplexan parasites that infect various animals and cause severe disease. They thrive in fields where Orinoco geese forage during stopovers during migration. Once birds are infected, they can transmit the parasites to other birds or humans. Orinoco goose meat is eaten by people in Bolivia and Brazil, potentially leading to human infection.[11]
Feeding
The Orinoco goose is
Breeding
The Ornico goose's breeding season varies geographically and with rainfall patterns. Populations below the Equator nest between April and November, a mostly dry season. In Venezuela most nest in the July to August wet season though some nest at other times. Orinoco geese nest in both natural and artificial cavities. They use cavities in trees formed by natural causes such as limb loss or rot rather than those created by other cavity-nesting species and may compete with owls and parrots for cavities. There are some reports of nesting on the ground in dense grass but that strategy appears rare.[8]
Orinoco geese are sometimes brood parasites, with a female laying eggs in another Orinoco goose's nest. In one study, unparasitized nests had a clutch size averaging seven eggs while the parasitized ones averaged about 19. Nest success as a percentage of the clutch was higher in parasitized nests.[8]
Orinoco geese form strong year-round pair bonds and are intensely territorial during the breeding season. Males guard females during the incubation period.[8]
Vocalization
The Orinoco goose is very vocal. During the breeding season males make "a high whistle and guttural honks" and females "a loud cackle". Males also make "a shrill-whistled zree and series of hollow reedy whistles" and females "a low guttural honking gu'rump, gur'rump, gur'rump". Both sexes make "a distinctive nasal honking, unnhh?". Young make "soft chicken-like peeps".[8]
Status
The
References
- ^ . Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ a b Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
- ^ a b Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
- ^ a b c Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (August 2022). "Screamers, ducks, geese, swans". IOC World Bird List. v 12.2. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ a b HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022
- ^ a b Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 24, 2022
- hdl:11336/25659.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Davenport, L., W. Endo, and K. Kriese (2020). Orinoco Goose (Oressochen jubatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.origoo1.01 retrieved September 28, 2022
- PMID 23056512.
- ^ S2CID 83968707.
- S2CID 204755802.
External links
- Media related to Neochen jubata at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Neochen jubata at Wikispecies