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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
bar-headed
goose, gray goose |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Anseriformes |
| FAMILY: |
Anatidae
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| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Anser
(goose) indicus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
This
species is gray and white with two horseshoe-shaped,
brownish-black bars on the back of its white head.
The body is gray overall, and the bill and legs
are pink, orange, or yellow. |
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| SIZE: |
Approximately
75 cm (30 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
1.87-3 kg (4-6.5 lbs) |
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| DIET: |
Includes
plants and occasionally crustaceans and invertebrates |
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| INCUBATION: |
27 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
4-6 eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
50 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
3 years |
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| RANGE: |
Found
in southeast Russia, northern India and western
China during breeding season, and in northern India
and northern Burma for the winter. |
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| HABITAT: |
Inhabits
high mountain lakes |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Bar-headed
geese are hardy birds! Every spring flocks of bar-headed
geese fly from India through the Himalayan range,
above Mount Everest, on their way to their nesting
grounds in Tibet. They are capable of flying through
the passes of the highest mountains at heights of
12,000-14,000 feet with winds that blow at speeds
of more than 200 mph and temperatures low enough
to freeze exposed flesh instantly. At this height,
oxygen levels drop by one-third; even kerosene cannot
burn there and helicopters cannot fly there. |
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| 2. |
Their powerful and constant flight helps generate
body heat, which is retained by their down feathers.
Such heat helps keep ice from building up on their
wings when flying over mountains. |
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| 3. |
These geese also have a special type of hemoglobin
that absorbs oxygen quicker than other birds; they
can also extract more oxygen from each breath than
other birds can. |
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| 4. |
These
geese are able to migrate - more than 1,000 miles
- in a single day. |
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| 5. |
Scientists
believe the geese's yearly migration is triggered
by an environmental signal that allows them to miss
the summer monsoon season and the worst winter storms. |
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| 6. |
These
geese rely on flapping their wings - not on gliding
- and are able to fly over 50 miles an hour without
wind to assist them. In fact, they are so strong
that they are able to fly in crosswinds without
being blown off course. |
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| Not
only are these geese an integral part of the ecosystem,
but they are also important to science. Researchers
believe that with better data about the bar-headed
geese's resistance to extreme temperatures, they
could help humans better cope with altitude and
respiratory diseases. |
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|
|
Palmer, R.S. (ed.). Handbook of North American
Birds. Vol. 4. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1988. |
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|
Scott, Peter. A Coloured Key of the Wildfowl
of the World. Slimbridge, England. The Wildfowl
Trust. 1988.
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| Todd,
F.S. Natural History of Waterfowl. San Diego,
Ca. Ibis Publishing Co., 1996. |
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| http://magazine.audubon.org/birds/birds0011.html |
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| http://www.scz.org/animals/g/bhgoose.html |
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