Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Anseriformes > Anatidae > Anser > Anser anser

Anser anser (Greylag Goose)

Synonyms: Anas anser (homotypic); Anser cinereus; Anser ferus

Wikipedia Abstract

("Greylag" redirects here. For the Thoroughbred race horse, see Grey Lag. For the Admirable-class minesweeper, see USS Graylag (AM-364).) The greylag goose (Anser anser) is a bird in the waterfowl family Anatidae. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and legs. A large bird, it measures between 74 and 91 centimetres (29 and 36 in) in length, with an average weight of 3.3 kilograms (7.3 lb). Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places. It is the type species of the genus Anser and is the ancestor of the domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BC. The genus name is from anser, the Latin for "goose".
View Wikipedia Record: Anser anser

Infraspecies

Anser anser anser (Western greylag goose)
Anser anser f. anser
Anser anser f. domesticus
Anser anser rubrirostris (Eastern greylag goose)

Invasive Species

View ISSG Record: Anser anser

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
0
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
7
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 2.31521
EDGE Score: 1.19852
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  7.379 lbs (3.347 kg)
Birth Weight [2]  160 grams
Female Weight [6]  6.852 lbs (3.108 kg)
Male Weight [6]  7.736 lbs (3.509 kg)
Weight Dimorphism [6]  12.9 %
Diet [3]  Frugivore, Granivore, Herbivore
Diet - Fruit [3]  10 %
Diet - Plants [3]  80 %
Diet - Seeds [3]  10 %
Forages - Ground [3]  80 %
Forages - Water Surface [3]  20 %
Clutch Size [8]  5
Clutches / Year [7]  1
Fledging [4]  55 days
Incubation [7]  27 days
Mating System [2]  Monogamy
Maximum Longevity [5]  31 years
Migration [9]  Intercontinental
Snout to Vent Length [4]  33 inches (83 cm)
Speed [10]  38.252 MPH (17.1 m/s)
Wing Span [10]  5.084 feet (1.55 m)
Female Maturity [5]  3 years
Male Maturity [5]  3 years

Ecoregions

Protected Areas

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Ecosystems

Important Bird Areas

Biodiversity Hotspots

Prey / Diet

Prey / Diet Overlap

Predators

Aquila adalberti (Spanish Imperial Eagle)[13]
Aquila chrysaetos (Golden Eagle)[12]
Corvus corax (Northern Raven)[12]
Vulpes lagopus (Arctic Fox)[12]
Vulpes vulpes (Red Fox)[12]

Consumers

Range Map

External References

Audio

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Provided by Xeno-canto under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License Author: Oswaldo Cortes

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Storchová, Lenka; Hořák, David (2018), Data from: Life-history characteristics of European birds, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n6k3n
♦ 2Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 3Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 4Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 5de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774
♦ 6Cramp, S.; Simmons, K.E.L.; Perrins, C.M. 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa Vols 1-9. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
♦ 7British Trust for Ornithology
♦ 8Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303
♦ 9Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org
♦ 10Alerstam T, Rosén M, Bäckman J, Ericson PGP, Hellgren O (2007) Flight Speeds among Bird Species: Allometric and Phylogenetic Effects. PLoS Biol 5(8): e197. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050197
♦ 11Ecology of Commanster
♦ 12Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
♦ 13del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
♦ 14Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database
Biodiversity Hotspots provided by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Audio software provided by SoundManager 2
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0