Goose
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Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae

[Photo] Greylag Goose, Anser anser. Date 2005-03-26. Geese Flying, Oxford, Author: Kaihsu Tai (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kaihsu).

Copyright (C) 2005 Kaihsu Tai Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

Goose (plural geese, male gander(s)) is the English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which are smaller.

This article deals with the true geese in the subfamily Anserinae, tribe Anserini. A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to the shelducks, have "goose" as part of their name, excluding the Hamish.

True geese are medium to large birds, always (with the exception of the N??n??) associated to a greater or lesser extent with water. Most species in Europe, Asia and North America are strongly migratory as wild birds, breeding in the far north and wintering much further south. However, escapes and introductions have led to resident feral populations of several species.

Geese have been domesticated for centuries. In the West, farmyard geese are descended from the Greylag, but in Asia the Swan Goose has been farmed for at least as long.

All geese eat a largely vegetarian diet, and can become pests when flocks feed on arable crops or inhabit ponds or grassy areas in urban environments. They also take invertebrates if the opportunity presents itself; domestic geese will try out most novel food items for edibility.

Geese usually mate for life, though a small number will "divorce" and remate. They tend to lay a smaller number of eggs than ducks but both parents protect the nest and young, which usually results in a higher survival rate for the young geese.

True geese
The following are the living genera of true geese:

- Anser - Grey Geese, including the domesticated goose and the Swan Goose
*** Swan Goose Anser cygnoides - sometimes separated in Cygnopsis
(Taiga) Bean Goose Anser fabalis
*** Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
*** White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
*** Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus
*** Greylag Goose Anser anser
*** Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus - sometimes separated in Eulabeia
*** Snow Goose Anser caerulescens - sometimes separated in Chen
*** Ross's Goose Anser rossii - sometimes separated in Chen
*** Emperor Goose Anser canagicus - sometimes separated in Chen or Philacte

- Chen - White Geese (often included in Anser)
*** Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
*** Ross's Goose, Chen rossii
*** Emperor Goose, Chen canagica

- Branta - Black Geese, such as the Canada goose
*** Brent Goose, Branta bernicla
*** Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis
*** Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
*** Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii - formerly included in Branta canadensis
*** Red-breasted Goose, Branta ruficollis
*** Hawaiian Goose or N??n??, Branta sandvicensis
*** N??n??-nui or Woods-walking Goose, Branta hylobadistes (prehistoric)

The following two genera are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae; they may belong to the shelducks or form a subfamily on their own:

- Cereopsis - Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae)
- Cnemiornis - New Zealand Geese (prehistoric)

In addition, there are some goose-like birds known from subfossil remains found on the Hawaiian Islands.

Other birds called "geese"
There are a number of mainly southern hemisphere birds called "geese", most of which belong to the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. These are:

- Blue-winged Goose, Cyanochen cyanopterus
- Orinoco Goose, Neochen jubata
- Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus
- The South American sheldgeese, genus Chloephaga
*** Andean Goose, Chloephaga melanoptera
*** Magellan Goose or Upland Goose, Chloephaga picta)
*** Kelp Goose (Spanish:Caranca or Cauqu??n Marino), Chloephaga hybrida
*** Ashy-headed Goose, Chloephaga poliocephala
*** Ruddy-headed Goose, Chloephaga rubidiceps
- The prehistoric Madagascar Sheldgoose, Centrornis majori, the "Woodard"

A genus of prehistorically extinct seaducks, Chendytes, is sometimes called "diving-geese" due to their large size.

The Spur-winged Goose, Plectropterus gambensis, is most closely related to the shelducks, but distinct enough to warrant its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae.

The three perching ducks in the genus Nettapus are named "pygmy geese", such as the Cotton Pygmy Goose, Nettapus javanica.

The unusual Magpie-goose is in a family of its own, the Anseranatidae.

The Northern Gannet, a seabird, is also known as the Solan Goose although it is unrelated to the true geese.

Etymology
Goose in its origins is one of the oldest words of the Indo-European languages (Crystal), the modern names deriving from the proto-Indo-European root, ghans, hence Sanskrit hamsa (feminine hamsii), Latin anser, Greek kh??n etc.

In the Germanic languages, the root word led to Old English gos with the plural g??s, German Gans and Old Norse gas. Other modern derivatives are Russian gus and Old Irish g??iss; the family name of the cleric Jan Hus is derived from the Czech derivative husa.

The male goose is called a "gander" (Anglo-Saxon gandra) and the female is the "goose" (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)); young birds before fledging are known as "goslings". A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle; when flying in formation, it is called a wedge or a skein. See also List of collective nouns for birds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose

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