Goose

For other uses, see Goose (disambiguation).

A greylag goose (Anser anser), with a rail in the background.

A goose (pl.: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera Anser (grey geese and white geese) and Branta (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyptian goose, Orinoco goose) are commonly called geese, but are not considered "true geese" taxonomically.[1] More distantly related members of the family Anatidae are swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller.

The term "goose" may refer to such bird of either sex, but when paired with "gander", refers specifically to a female one (the latter referring to a male). Young birds before fledging are called goslings.[2] The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump.[3]

  1. ^ Ottenburghs, Jente; Megens, Hendrik-Jan; Kraus, Robert H.S.; Madsen, Ole; van Hooft, Pim; van Wieren, Sipke E.; Crooijmans, Richard P.M.A.; Ydenburg, Ronald C.; Groenen, Martien A.M.; Prins, Herbert H.T. (2016). "A tree of geese: A phylogenomic perspective on the evolutionary history of True Geese". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 101: 303–313. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.021
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Partridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "AskOxford: G". Collective Terms for Groups of Animals. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2011.