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Difference between revisions of "Ashy-headed Goose" - BirdForum Opus

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==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
 
====Breeding====
 
====Breeding====
It makes a nest in tall grass laying 4-6 eggs.  
+
The nest is close to water where trees are present. It may be on the ground in tall grass, at the base of a tree, or in a hole in log.  Sometimes it is placed fairly high, up to four meters above the ground. The nest is lined with grass and covered with a second thick lining of down.  Clutch of 4-6 creamy-white to pale brown eggs are laid.  
 
====Diet====
 
====Diet====
Their main diet is grass obtained by grazing.
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They are mainly vegetarian, feeding on leaves, stems and seed heads of grasses and sedges.  On the wintering grounds, they often graze on wheat, maize, sunflower and sorghum stubble.
 +
====Vocalisations====
 +
Male gives soft whistles and the female produces harsh cackling notes.
 +
====Movements====
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Partially migratory, moving north to winter in the pampas region to Buenos Aires province.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 01:05, 18 January 2019

Photo © by Luis R Figueroa
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, 4 December 2018
Chloephaga poliocephala

Identification

Photo © by Rodrigo Reyes
Baker river, Patagonia, Chile, 10 December 2007

50-55cm.

  • Pale brown back
  • Chestnut neck
  • Black-barred white flanks
  • Grey head

Sexes similar, except that the male may have less or no barring on the underparts.

  • Immature birds are duller and have brown heads.

Flight

White wing shows black primaries, and a broad green bar.

Distribution

Southern South America: found in southern Argentina and southern Chile to Tierra del Fuego. Migrates north in winter.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Damp upland forest clearings.

Behaviour

Breeding

The nest is close to water where trees are present. It may be on the ground in tall grass, at the base of a tree, or in a hole in log. Sometimes it is placed fairly high, up to four meters above the ground. The nest is lined with grass and covered with a second thick lining of down. Clutch of 4-6 creamy-white to pale brown eggs are laid.

Diet

They are mainly vegetarian, feeding on leaves, stems and seed heads of grasses and sedges. On the wintering grounds, they often graze on wheat, maize, sunflower and sorghum stubble.

Vocalisations

Male gives soft whistles and the female produces harsh cackling notes.

Movements

Partially migratory, moving north to winter in the pampas region to Buenos Aires province.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Wikipedia contributors. (2018, August 31). Ashy-headed goose. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:50, January 18, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ashy-headed_goose&oldid=857374513
  3. Carboneras, C. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Ashy-headed Goose (Chloephaga poliocephala). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52831 on 18 January 2019).
  4. Ashy-headed Goose (Chloephaga poliocephala), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/ashgoo1

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