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A goose (plural geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the familyAnatidae. This group comprises the genera Anser (the grey geese), Branta (the black geese), and Chen (which includes the white geese), the latter being commonly placed within the genus Anser. Some other birds, mostly related to the shelducks, have 'goose' as part of their names. 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' is more properly used for a female bird, while 'gander' refers specifically to a male one. Young birds before fledging are called goslings.^[1] 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.^[2]

Etymology[edit]

The word 'goose' is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European root, ghans-. In Germanic languages, the root gave Old Englishgōs with the plural gēs and gandres (becoming Modern English goose, geese, gander, and gosling, respectively), Frisiangoes, gies and guoske, New High GermanGans, Gänse, and Ganter, and Old Norsegās. This term also gave Lithuanian: žąsìs, Irish: gé (goose, from Old Irishgéiss), Latin: anser, AncientGreek: χήν (khēn), Dutch: gans, Albanian: gatë (heron), Sanskrithaṃsa and haṃsī ('gander' and 'goose', also the words for male and female swans), Finnish: hanhi, Avestanzāō, Polish: gęś, Romanian: gâscă / gânsac, Ukrainian: гуска / гусак (guska / gusak), Russian: гусыня / гусь (gusyna / gus), Czech: husa, and Persian: غاز‎ (ghāz).^[1][3]

True geese and their relatives[edit]

The three living genera of true geese are: Anser, grey geese, including the greylag goose, and domestic geese; Chen, white geese (often included in Anser), such as the snow goose; and Branta, black geese, such as the Canada goose.

Two genera of geese are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae; they may belong to the shelducks or form a subfamily on their own: Cereopsis, the Cape Barren goose, and Cnemiornis, the prehistoric New Zealand goose. Either these or, more probably, the goose-like Coscoroba swan is the closest living relative of the true geese.

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Fossils of true geese are hard to assign to genus; all that can be said is that their fossil record, particularly in North America, is dense and comprehensively documents many different species of true geese that have been around since about 10 million years ago in the Miocene. The aptly named Anser atavus (meaning 'progenitor goose') from some 12 million years ago had even more plesiomorphies in common with swans. In addition, some goose-like birds are known from subfossil remains found on the Hawaiian Islands.

Geese are monogamous, living in permanent pairs throughout the year; however, unlike most other permanently monogamous animals, they are territorial only during the short nesting season. Paired geese are more dominant and feed more, two factors that result in more young.^[4]

Other birds called 'geese'[edit]

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Some mainly Southern Hemisphere birds are called 'geese', most of which belong to the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. These are:

• Orinoco goose, Neochen jubata
• Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca
• The South American sheldgeese, genus Chloephaga
• The prehistoricMalagasy sheldgoose, Centrornis majori

Others:

• The spur-winged goose, Plectropterus gambensis, is most closely related to the shelducks, but distinct enough to warrant its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae.
• The blue-winged goose, Cyanochen cyanopterus, and the Cape Barren goose, Cereopsis novaehollandiae, have disputed affinities. They belong to separate ancient lineages that may ally either to the Tadorninae, Anserinae, or closer to the dabbling ducks (Anatinae).
• The three species of small waterfowl in the genus Nettapus are named 'pygmy geese'. They seem to represent another ancient lineage, with possible affinities to the Cape Barren goose or the spur-winged goose.
• Maned goose, also called Australian wood duck or maned duck, Chenonetta jubata
• A genus of prehistorically extinctseaducks, Chendytes, is sometimes called 'diving-geese' due to their large size.^[5]
• The magpie goose is the only living species in the family Anseranatidae.
• The northern gannet, a seabird, is also known as the 'Solan goose', although it is a bird unrelated to the true geese, or any other Anseriformes for that matter.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture[edit]

Well-known sayings about geese include:^{[citation needed]}

• To 'have a gander' is to examine something in detail.
• 'What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander' or 'What's good for the goose is good for the gander' means that what is an appropriate treatment for one person is equally appropriate for someone else.
• Saying that someone's 'goose is cooked' means that they have suffered, or are about to suffer, a terrible setback or misfortune.
• The common phrase 'silly goose' which is used when referring to someone who is acting particularly silly.
• 'Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs,' derived from an old fable, is a saying referring to any greed-motivated, unprofitable action that destroys or otherwise renders a favourable situation useless.
• 'A wild goose chase' is a useless, futile waste of time and effort.
• There is a legendary old woman called Mother Goose who wrote nursery rhymes for children.
• A raised, rounded area of swelling (typically a hematoma) caused by an impact injury is sometimes metaphorically called a 'goose egg', especially if it occurs on the head.^[6]

'Gray Goose Laws' in Iceland[edit]

The oldest collection of Medieval Icelandic laws is known as 'Grágás', i.e. the Gray Goose Laws.

Various etymologies were offered for that name:

• The fact that the laws were written with a goose quill;
• The fact that the laws were bound in goose skin;
• Because of the age of the laws — it was then believed that geese lived longer than other birds.^[7][8][9]

Gallery[edit]

• Canada goose gosling

• Canada geese in flight, Great Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary

See also[edit]

• Angel wing, a disease common in geese
• Domestic goose, which includes cooking and folklore
• Untitled Goose Game, a video game centering around a goose, that takes place in a middle-class village in England.

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abPartridge, Eric (1983). Origins: a Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: Greenwich House. pp. 245–246. ISBN0-517-414252.
2. ^'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.
3. ^Crystal, David (1998). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. ISBN0-521-55967-7.
4. ^Lamprecht, Jürg (1987). 'Female reproductive strategies in bar-headed geese (Anser indicus): Why are geese monogamous?'. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Springer. 21 (5): 297–305. doi:10.1007/BF00299967.
5. ^Howard, Hildegarde (1955). 'New Records and a New Species of Chendytes, an Extinct Genus of Diving Geese'. The Condor. 57 (3): 135–143. doi:10.2307/1364861. JSTOR1364861.
6. ^Roland, James. 'What’s Causing This Bump on My Forehead, and Should I Be Concerned?' HealthLine, 2 Aug 2018. Retrieved 24 Mar 2020. https://www.healthline.com/health/bump-on-forehead
7. ^Boulhosa, Patricia Press. “The Law of Óláfr inn Helgi.” In Icelanders and the Kings of Norway: Mediaeval Sagas and Legal Texts. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2005.
8. ^Byock, Jesse L., Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power, Berkeley: University of California, 1990
9. ^Byock, Jesse L. 'Grágás: The 'Grey Goose' Law in Viking Age Iceland London: Penguin, 2001.

Further reading[edit]

• Carboneras, Carles (1992). 'Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans)'. In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi (eds.). Handbook of Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 536–629. ISBN84-87334-10-5.
• Terres, John K.; National Audubon Society (1991) [1980]. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. New York: Wings Books. ISBN0-517-03288-0.

External links[edit]

Untitled Goose Game Download Mac

Untitled Goose Game Online

• Anatidae media on the Internet Bird Collection

Untitled Goose Game Mac Download