On March 31, 2021, I saw a little girl in Santa Fe Dam staring at a duck or a goose and two common Canada geese beside it. For my curiosity I walked towards it. It looked very different from any other duck/goose that I have ever seen. I chatted with the little girl while taking pictures. I don’t know if our talking disturbed it and It flew away. It was like a nobleman and the other two Canada geese, like its entourage, flew with it. After returning home I found it was an Egyptian goose. It was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and was bred widely in Africa. Their popularity is chiefly as an ornamental bird. Escapees are very common and feral populations have become established in Western Europe, the United States and New Zealand. According to Audubon, you can see them in Florida, Texas, and California in the United States.
2021年3月31日我在聖達菲大壩看到一個小女孩目不轉睛的盯著一隻鴨還是一隻鵝的動物，旁邊還有兩隻常見的加拿大雁，基於好奇心，我走向它，果真很特別，我從未看過這樣的鴨或鵝。我一邊與小女孩搭訕，一邊照相，不知道是不是我們的講話聲打擾到它，突然飛走了，它像個達官貴人似的，另外兩隻加拿大雁像是它的隨從，也跟著它飛走。回家後才查到這是一隻埃及鵝。它被古埃及人視為神聖，在非洲廣泛繁殖，作為觀賞用。很常見逃脫者，它們在西歐、美國和紐西蘭已有野生種群。根據奧都本的說法，您可以在美國的佛羅里達州，德克薩斯州和加州看到它們。
Image Gallery-Click to enlarge 圖片庫-點擊放大
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From a long distance I saw two Egyptian geese walking fast on the beach and making strange noises on April 9, 2021. I followed them behind and wanted to see what was going on. Then I saw two Egyptian geese aggressively attacking the other two Egyptian geese. I was afraid that the two geese would attack me so I stood afar to watch them and took pictures. Unfortunately my reaction was still not fast enough so the photos were not quite sharp and clear. But you can probably imagine the commotion of the fight scene. After returning home, I saw the description of the Egyptian goose during the breeding season on the Oakland Zoo website, and then I understood what the behavior I saw was all about. Both sexes of Egyptian geese are aggressively territorial towards their own species when breeding and frequently pursue intruders into the air, attacking them in aerial “dogfights”. A large portion of their wings are white, but when the wings are folded it is covered by the brown wing coverts. The white shows when they display their wings in aggression, serving as a warning communication.
2021年4月9日我老遠就看到兩隻埃及鵝快速地走在沙灘上，並發出奇怪的叫聲，我跟在後面想看看它們在幹什麼，結果看到兩隻埃及鵝很兇悍的攻擊另外兩隻，我因為害怕那兩隻鵝攻擊我，我站得老遠觀看，一邊看一邊照相，但是我的反應還是不夠快，所以照片不夠清晰，但是你大概可以想像那打架的精彩情景。回家後在Oakland Zoo的網站上看到對繁殖期埃及鵝的描述，才明白所看到的行為是怎麼一回事。繁殖時雌雄兩種性別的埃及鵝都對自己的物種具有侵略性，並且經常追捕入侵者趕上空中，並藉空中“混戰”攻擊它們。它們的翅膀大部分是白色的，但是當翅膀收著時，它被棕色的覆羽遮蓋住。當它們要顯示它們的攻擊性的時候，翅膀的白色就會出來，作為警告之用。
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Notes 筆記
- Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians, and appeared in much of their artwork. Because of their popularity chiefly as an ornamental bird, escapees are common and feral populations have become established in Western Europe, the United States, and New Zealand.
- The generic name is based on Greek ἀλωπός, , “fox”, and χήν, “goose”, referring to the ruddy color of its back. The species name aegyptius is from the Latin Aegyptius, “Egyptian”.
- This species breeds widely in Africa except in deserts and dense forests, and is locally abundant. They are found mostly in the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara.
- This is a largely terrestrial species, which will also perch readily on trees and buildings.
- Egyptian geese typically eat seeds, leaves, grasses, and plant stems. Occasionally, they will eat locusts, worms, or other small animals.
- Both sexes are aggressively territorial towards their own species when breeding and frequently pursue intruders into the air, attacking them in aerial “dogfights”. Will attack intruders and chase them away, and may even kill another’s offspring for increased resources and bettering chances for their offspring’s survival. They have distinct vocalizations. Males hiss and females make a loud cracking noise. The female has a louder quack that she often sounds off if there is a disturbance while caring for her young.
- A large portion of their wings are white, but when the wings are folded it is covered by the brown wing coverts. The white shows when they display their wings in aggression, serving as a warning communication.
- This species will nest in a large variety of situations, especially in holes in mature trees in parkland. The female builds the nest from reeds, leaves and grass, and both parents take turns incubating eggs. Egyptian geese usually pair for life. Both the male and female care for the offspring until they are old enough to care for themselves. Such parental care however, does not include foraging for the young, who, being precocial, forage for themselves.
- They stay together in small flocks year round for protection, and pair up during breeding season. Noisy and often fighting. Call is a loud ‘Kak-kak’; hisses when annoyed.
- 埃及鵝被古埃及人視為神聖，並出現在許多藝術品中。它們主要是作為觀賞用，很常見逃脫者，在西歐、美國和紐西蘭已有野生種群。
- 属名是根據希臘文ἀλωπός，"狐狸"和χήν，"鵝"而來，指的是它背面的紅顏色。種名aegyptius來自拉丁Aegyptius，“埃及”的意思。
- 除沙漠和茂密的森林外，它在非洲廣泛繁殖，在當地產量豐富。它們主要分佈在尼羅河谷和撒哈拉沙漠以南。
- 它主要是陸地物種，很容易棲息在樹木和建築物上。
- 埃及鵝通常吃種子、樹葉、草和植物的莖。有時它們也會吃蝗蟲、蠕蟲或其他小動物。
- 繁殖時雌雄兩種性別都對自己的物種具有侵略性，並且經常追捕入侵者趕上空中，並藉空中“混戰”攻擊它們。會將攻擊的入侵者趕走，甚至可能殺死別隻鵝的後代以增加自己後代生存的資源及機會。它們會發獨特的聲音，雄鵝發出嘶嘶聲和雌鵝發出噼噼啪啪的響聲。如果在照顧幼鵝時被干擾，她會發出很大的嘎嘎聲。
- 它們的翅膀大部分是白色的，但是當翅膀收著時，它被棕色的覆羽遮蓋住。當它們要顯示它們的攻擊性的時候，翅膀的白色就會出來，作為警告之用。
- 它們可在各種各樣的情況下築巢，尤其是在綠地成熟樹木的洞中。雌鵝用蘆葦、樹葉和草築巢，雌雄親鳥輪流孵蛋。埃及鵝通常成雙成對生活。雄鵝和雌鵝都照料後代，直到它們年紀大到可以照顧自己。但是這種父母照料不包括為幼鵝覓食，因為它們是早熟的幼鵝，會自己覓食。
- 它們常年在小群中一起生活以互相保護，並在繁殖季節結成配對搭檔，很吵而且經常打架。 叫聲是響亮的“ Kak-kak”； 惱怒時是嘶嘶聲。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Egyptian goose
- Oakland Zoo: Egyptian Goose
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