White Goose - description, habitat, interesting facts

White geese can be attributed to migratory birds of the nesting type. These individuals are attributed to the duck family. Feathered friends are famous for their peace-loving nature, but they can show aggression in case of a strong crush in a flock.

Historical data

If you follow some data that have not yet been fully confirmed, representatives of this family were met in the late 1800s in the territory of the Soviet Union. At first, these individuals were found in Pavlograd, then they were found in a transit flight across the Black Sea.

It is considered that representatives of the family arrived in the USSR directly from the Caspian Sea, where they always wintered for those times. As this water source increased its depth by 1.5 meters, birds decreased in number and began to fly to other places for the winter.

When in the late 1800s they flew en masse from the Caspian coast, they were later noticed in the Urals. Also represented individuals were found in the Crimea and in the Danube region. The Kerch peninsula is still considered the favorite place of geese, but their range of habitats has significantly expanded.

Despite the fact that individuals successfully breed and hibernate in different places, experts have calculated that over the past 9–10 years their population has decreased by 7 times. This is a lot, taking into account that the geese are quite strong in health. The decline in the population is due to the fact that goose hunting is extremely popular.

Description

1. Otherwise, individuals of this family are called orange beaks. They look like gray geese. But the second type of case is much larger. As for the coloring, the upper section of the case is darker, the lower one is slightly lighter.
2. Animals that have reached puberty have dark spots in the abdominal part and lower section of the sternum. These blotches increase in size in proportion to how the bird matures.
3. On the shoulder blades there are gray feathers, they also cover the neck and sides of the goose.But not all are inherent in these features, mostly white geese. These external signs do not appear in young individuals until they turn 2-3 years old.
4. Representatives of this family are famous for their extraordinary appearance in terms of color. Adults can boast a beak of orange-red color with heterogeneous structure. Juveniles, in contrast, have a grayish beak with some dark marks.
5. At the feet of chicks, there is a color between faded orange and yellowish. After a year and a half, the shade smoothly turns into a reddish orange subtone. Black feathers can be seen in the tail zone.
6. As for the size of the body, individuals of female gender are smaller, their length varies between 60-75 cm. Individuals of male gender are larger (from 65 to 77 cm.).
7. The plumage may be different, starting whitish, ending with a delicate bodily shade. It depends on how often geese moult, what they eat, how things are with their health. The final coloring is formed only after 4 changes of feathering.
8. These members of the family have a strange voice, they make strange sounds.In this specimen are similar to their kindred gray geese. But a flock of white birds is much larger, they prefer to be in large families. However, as mentioned earlier, everyone should have enough space.
9. Most of the life of these birds live in dry areas. But this does not mean that the birds do not dive or do not know how to swim. Excellent dives come out of them when individuals reach the water.

Rhythm of life

1. Considering such a popular bird, you can not ignore its life cycle. Individuals of the family under discussion can easily live for more than 10 years. There are cases when geese have existed for 20 years.
2. By their natural features, birds prefer to nest and lead a nomadic way of being. They will always choose dry land instead of water, but they also feel pretty confident in the water space.
3. These birds, despite their cockiness in some cases, have high intelligence, unlike themselves. Mind and quick wits help geese to survive.
4. For example, before you build a nest, these birds are looking for where white owls are located. If their home is nearby, then it is possible to settle here.This is because owls are hunters. They carefully guard their homes, and in parallel with them the nest of geese.
5. Northerners, the so-called pedigree group, are also called hostile to gulls and arctic foxes. These are sworn enemies who steal goose eggs and goslings themselves. They also break the nests, so the birds have to build all over again. But if the owl is nearby, then at the same time it protects its own and another settlement.
6. Individuals of female sex belong to their nest, trying not to leave far and for a long time. But in case of danger the female will not try to fight back to the detriment of herself, she will better leave.

Habitat

1. These birds today are common on several continents. But they do not intersect with each other when they fly. There are representatives of the family in Greenland and Canada, as well as Siberia.
2. When they winter, they fly to the southern regions. Frequently seen in the United States of America, as well as Mexico, Europe, on the Japanese islands.
3. Throughout the migration, individuals do not allow anyone to come near them, they are wary of strangers.However, when nesting begins, geese seem to exhale, allowing themselves to relax.

Breeding

1. The discussed pedigree group prefers to join the family for the rest of their lives. The female chooses his companion, and then only with him dwells. Pets reach sexual maturity when the 4th moult comes to an end.
2. When the feathered friends end wintering, they fly back and begin to prepare hard for vysidke babies. Earlier it was already mentioned that these individuals will build nests next to the owls.
3. They prefer to nest in flocks, in some cases the number reaches 1 thousand individuals. But it is a rarity, usually geese gather for 20 pairs. At the same time, they strictly observe the boundaries of 2 km. between the flocks. As for the number of laying, it is equal to 5 eggs maximum.
4. An interesting fact is that only the female sits on the nest. As for the males of the species under consideration, they are always close to their second half. If the female has urgent business and needs to leave the nest, she covers it with fluff and grass.
5. If, for any reason, the chicks died or the nest was stirred up, geese often do re-laying. If all eggs were lost, then a pair of individuals will return to the breeding process only the next year.On the light of the first offspring after laying appears about 20 days later.
6. After another 45 days, the chicks are on the wings. At the time of growth of young animals, parents begin to actively shed. Also during nesting all individuals become very vulnerable. They can hunt predators or people. Even when the danger becomes too close, adults do not show panic and anxiety.
7. In the wild, at the sight of danger, adults simply begin to move a sufficient distance from the nest. As soon as the threat completely disappears, the pair will return to their laying. While waiting for offspring, individuals converse and pinch grass. Therefore, to shoot the game and pick up the eggs is not a difficult task.
8. As mentioned earlier, as soon as the offspring is born, parents begin to shed heavily. Therefore, their ability to fly is completely lost. Such features of birds negatively affect their numbers. In addition, they are destroyed not only by humans, but also by predators.
9. The population of white geese is declining and the problem is that individuals do not always succeed in reproducing offspring. Often birds nest in the tundra climate zone.The problem is that spring comes late, and there are often sudden frosts and snowfalls. In such conditions, adults do not rush to make masonry. In rare cases, geese nest with a small number of eggs.

Geese diseases

1. It is not a secret that geese, like other representatives of birds, are subject to various diseases. The greatest danger to the health of such birds is diarrhea. A particularly similar disease is scary for the young. The problem is that the young individuals still have a rather weak immune system.
2. At a young age, individuals have a very weak organism and are unable to cope with such a disease on their own. As for adult geese, they suffer from such ailments quite rarely. In addition, they alone are able to cope with the disease. In goslings, diarrhea can manifest for various reasons.
3. Hypothermia should be noted among the most common. Because of such a trouble, food begins to be poorly absorbed. The problem is that the growing body is not quite used to the new conditions of life.Often in young animals poisoning occurs due to stale or coarse food.
4. The problem is that the young individuals have a very gentle gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, food will directly affect the well-being of individuals. Chicks should be fed very fine food.
5. The problem in the population of white geese is also in the fact that young animals often pick up fairly serious infectious diseases that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Often, pathologies are expressed as helminths, pasteurellosis, salmonellosis, enteritis and colibacillosis.
6. It is because of such serious pathologies that geese often experience severe diarrhea, which is accompanied by an eerie and unbearable odor. In addition, birds can increase body temperature. In the litter is often observed bloody impurity. Gus loses his appetite, manifests weakness and lethargy.

Interesting Facts

1. White geese have a unique ability to communicate with each other in their own language. Not every animal can boast of such. Birds can also show anger, joy, fear and pain.
2. As for flights, the pack always forms a wedge, like most birds.This technique allows us to achieve less wind resistance. In addition, geese can always see each other.
3. White geese are capable of flying over very long distances due to their small body mass. This is achieved due to the fact that birds have hollow and light bones.

Birds are harmless when everyone has enough space. In other cases, they hiss and in other ways show discontent. Such is the feature. Today we have reviewed the main aspects in turn.

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