62-418: The greylag goose or graylag goose ( Anser anser ) is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus Anser . It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink 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 lb 4 oz). Its distribution
124-623: A flock because it is conspicuous. A complete albino often has weak eyesight and brittle wing and tail feathers, which may reduce its ability to fly. In flocks, albinos are often harassed by their own species. Such observations have been made among red-winged blackbirds , barn swallows , and African penguins . In a nesting colony of the latter, three unusual juveniles—one black-headed, one white-headed, and one full albino—were shunned and abused by companions. Albinism has been reported in all orders and in 54 families of North American birds. The American robin and house sparrow led bird species in
186-585: A pest species in several areas where its population has increased sharply. In Norway, the number of greylag geese is estimated to have increased three- to fivefold between 1995 and 2015. As a consequence, farmers' problems caused by goose grazing on farmland have increased considerably. This problem is also evident for the pink-footed goose . In the Orkney islands the population has increased dramatically: there were 300 breeding pairs, increasing to 10,000 in 2009, and 64,000 in 2019. Due to extensive damage caused to crops,
248-1074: A skein , a team , or a wedge ; when flying close together, they are called a plump . The word "goose" is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns . In Germanic languages , the root gave Old English gōs with the plural gēs and gandra (becoming Modern English goose, geese, gander, respectively), West Frisian goes , gies and guoske , Dutch : gans , New High German Gans , Gänse , and Ganter , and Old Norse gās and gæslingr , whence English gosling . This term also gave Lithuanian : žąsìs , Irish : gé (goose, from Old Irish géiss ), Hindi: कलहंस, Latin : anser , Spanish and Portuguese : ganso , Ancient Greek : χήν ( khēn ), Albanian : gatë ( swans ), Finnish : hanhi , Avestan zāō , Polish : gęś , Romanian : gâscă / gânsac , Ukrainian : гуска / гусак ( huska / husak ), Russian : гусыня / гусь ( gusyna / gus ), Czech : husa , and Persian : غاز ( ghāz ). The two living genera of true geese are: Anser , grey geese and white geese, such as
310-745: A "triumph call", a resonant honk followed by a low-pitched cackle, uttered with neck extended forward parallel with the ground. The mate and even unfledged young reciprocate in kind. Young greylags stay with their parents as a family group, migrating with them in a larger flock, and only dispersing when the adults drive them away from their newly established breeding territory the following year. At least in Europe, patterns of migration are well understood and follow traditional routes with known staging sites and wintering sites. The young learn these locations from their parents which normally stay together for life. Greylags leave their northern breeding areas relatively late in
372-433: A few days after fledging replacing the juvenile plumage with an auxiliary formative plumage ; the second a month or so later giving the formative plumage . Abnormal plumages include a variety of conditions. Albinism , total loss of colour, is rare, but partial loss of colours is more common. Some species are colour polymorphic , having two or more colour variants. A few species have special types of polymorphism, as in
434-630: A flock of geese resembles the baying of hounds. Goslings chirp or whistle lightly, and adults hiss if threatened or angered. This species has a Palearctic distribution. The nominate subspecies breeds in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Baltic States, northern Russia, Poland, eastern Hungary, Romania, Germany and the Netherlands. It also breeds locally in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria,
496-502: A half meters tall and weighed about 22 kilograms. The evidence suggests the bird was flightless, unlike modern geese. Most goose species are migratory, though populations of Canada geese living near human developments may remain in a locality year-round. These 'resident' geese, found primarily in the eastern United States, may migrate only short distances, or not at all, if they have adequate food supply and access to open water. Migratory geese may use several environmental cues in timing
558-409: A mean weight of around 3.3 kilograms (7 lb 4 oz). The wingspan is 147 to 180 centimetres (58 to 71 in). Males are generally larger than females, with the sexual dimorphism more pronounced in the eastern subspecies rubirostris , which is larger than the nominate subspecies on average. The plumage of the greylag goose is greyish brown, with a darker head and paler breast and belly with
620-419: A variable amount of black spotting. It has a pale grey forewing and rump which are noticeable when the bird is in flight or stretches its wings on the ground. It has a white line bordering its upper flanks, and its wing coverts are light coloured, contrasting with its darker flight feathers. Its plumage is patterned by the pale fringes of the feathers. Juveniles differ mostly in their lack of black speckling on
682-400: A year, resulting in a breeding or nuptial plumage and a basic plumage . Many ducks and some other species such as the red junglefowl have males wearing a bright nuptial plumage while breeding and a drab eclipse plumage for some months afterward. The painted bunting 's juveniles have two inserted moults in their first autumn, each yielding plumage like an adult female. The first starts
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#1732876112954744-499: Is albino (from the Latin albus , "white") has white feathers in place of coloured ones on some portion of its body. A bird that is naturally white, such as a swan , goose , or egret , is not an albino, nor is a bird that has seasonally alternating white plumage. Four degrees of albinism have been described. The most common form is termed partial albinism , in which local areas of the bird's body, such as certain feathers, are lacking
806-513: Is 74 to 91 centimetres (29 to 36 in) long with a wing length of 41.2 to 48 centimetres ( 16 + 1 ⁄ 4 to 19 in). It has a tail 6.2 to 6.9 centimetres ( 2 + 7 ⁄ 16 to 2 + 11 ⁄ 16 in), a bill of 6.4 to 6.9 centimetres ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 2 + 11 ⁄ 16 in) long, and a tarsus of 7.1 to 9.3 centimetres ( 2 + 13 ⁄ 16 to 3 + 11 ⁄ 16 in). It weighs 2.16 to 4.56 kilograms (4 lb 12 oz to 10 lb 1 oz), with
868-401: Is a genetically conditioned character in domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus domesticus ). Males with this condition develop a female-type plumage, although otherwise look and respond like virile males. In some breeds, one can see males that have a plumage completely similar in all aspects to that of females. The trait is controlled by a simple autosomic dominant gene , whose expression is limited to
930-477: Is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can be different colour morphs . The placement of feathers on a bird is not haphazard but rather emerges in organized, overlapping rows and groups, and these feather tracts are known by standardized names. Most birds moult twice
992-572: Is called eclipse plumage . When they shed feathers to go into an eclipse, the ducks become flightless for a short period. Some duck species remain in eclipse for one to three months in the late summer and early fall, while others retain the cryptic plumage until the next spring when they undergo another moult to return to their breeding plumage. Although mainly found in the Anatidae , a few other species, including related red junglefowl , most fairywrens and some sunbirds also have an eclipse plumage. In
1054-475: Is four to six eggs, but fewer eggs or larger numbers are not unusual. The eggs are creamy-white at first but soon become stained, and average 85 by 58 millimetres ( 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 by 2 + 5 ⁄ 16 in). They are mostly laid on successive days and incubation starts after the last one is laid. The female does the incubation, which lasts about twenty-eight days, while the male remains on guard somewhere near. The chicks are precocial and able to leave
1116-423: Is imbalanced it produces colour shifts that are termed schizochroisms (including xanthochromism – an overabundance of yellow – and axanthism – lack of yellow – which are commonly bred in cagebirds such as budgerigars ). A reduction in eumelanin leads to non-eumelanin schizochroism with an overall fawn plumage while a lack of phaeomelanin results in grey-coloured non-phaeomelanin schizochroism. Carotenism refers to
1178-452: Is often brighter than the basic plumage, for sexual display, but may also be cryptic to hide incubating birds that might be vulnerable on the nest. The Humphrey–Parkes terminology requires some attention to detail to name moults and plumages correctly. Many male ducks have bright, colourful plumage, exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism . However, they moult into a dull plumage after breeding in mid-summer. This drab, female-like appearance
1240-441: Is rare, occurring to any extent in perhaps one in 1800 individuals. It involves loss of colour in all parts including the iris of the eyes, bills, skin, legs, and feet. It is usually the result of a genetic mutation causing the absence of tyrosinase , an enzyme essential for melanin synthesis. Leucism (which includes what used to be termed as "partial albinism") refers to loss of pigments in some or all parts of feathers. A bird that
1302-555: Is refracted. Dilution regularly occurs in normal plumage (grey, buff, pink and cream colours are usually produced by this process), but may in addition occur as an aberration (e.g., all normally black plumage becoming grey). In some birds – many true owls (Strigidae), some nightjars (Caprimulgidae) and a few cuckoos ( Cuculus and relatives) being widely known examples – there is colour polymorphism . This means that two or more colour variants are numerous within their populations during all or at least most seasons and plumages; in
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#17328761129541364-599: Is spent at perennial stopover sites, where individuals rest and build up fat stores for further travel. Geese, like other birds, fly in a V formation . This formation helps to conserve energy in flight, and aids in communication and monitoring of flock mates. Using great white pelicans as a model species, researchers showed that flying in a V formation increased the aerodynamics of trailing birds, thus requiring fewer wing flaps to stay aloft and lowering individuals' heartrates. Leading geese switch positions on longer flights to allow for multiple individuals to gain benefits from
1426-501: Is voided frequently. The tubers of sea clubrush ( Bolboschoenus maritimus ) are also taken as well as berries and water plants such as duckweed ( Lemna ) and floating sweetgrass ( Glyceria fluitans ). In wintertime they eat grass and leaves but also glean grain on cereal stubbles and sometimes feed on growing crops, especially during the night. They have been known to feed on oats , wheat , barley , buckwheat , lentils , peas and root crops . Acorns are sometimes consumed, and on
1488-620: Is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia often migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places, although many populations are resident, even in the north. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose , having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BCE. The genus name and specific epithet are from anser , the Latin for "goose". Greylag geese travel to their northerly breeding grounds in spring, nesting on moorlands, in marshes, around lakes and on coastal islands. They normally mate for life and nest on
1550-642: The Guianan cock-of-the-rock or birds of paradise – retain their exuberant plumage and sexual dimorphism at all times, moulting as ordinary birds do once annually. There are hereditary as well as non-hereditary variations in plumage that are rare and termed abnormal or aberrant plumages. Melanism refers to an excess of black or dark colours. Erythromelanism or erythrism is the result of excessive reddish-brown erythromelanin deposition in feathers that normally lack melanin. Melanin of different forms combine with xanthophylls to produce colour mixtures and when this combination
1612-558: 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. Goose fossils have been found ranging from 10 to 12 million years ago (Middle Miocene). Garganornis ballmanni from Late Miocene (~ 6-9 Ma) of Gargano region of central Italy, stood one and
1674-522: The barnacle goose ( Branta leucopsis ) and the Canada goose ( Branta canadensis ), and occasionally with the mute swan ( Cygnus olor ). The greylag goose was one of the first animals to be domesticated; this happened at least 3,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt, the domestic subspecies being known as A. a. domesticus . As the domestic goose is a subspecies of the greylag goose they are able to interbreed, with
1736-530: The greylag goose and 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
1798-399: The incidence of albinism. Albinistic white appears to replace brown pigments more often than red or yellow ones; records suggest a greater incidence in crows , ravens , and hawks than in goldfinches or orioles . Several kinds of albinism in chickens has been described: A complete albinism controlled by an autosomal recessive gene and two different kinds of partial albinism. One of
1860-440: The superb and splendid fairywrens , very old males (over about four years) may moult from one nuptial plumage to another whereas in the red-backed and white-winged fairywrens , males do not acquire nuptial plumage until four years of age – well after they become sexually mature and indeed longer than the vast majority of individuals live. In contrast to the ducks, males of hummingbirds and most lek-mating passerines – like
1922-806: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, North Macedonia and some other European countries. The eastern race extends eastwards across a broad swathe of Asia to China. Historically, European birds generally migrated southwards to spend winter in southern Europe and North Africa, but in recent decades many instead overwinter in or near their breeding range, even in Scandinavia. Asian birds migrate to Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh and eastward to China. Greylags also occur as very rare winter migrants to South Korea and Japan . In North America, there are both feral domestic geese, which are similar to greylags, and occasional vagrant greylags. Greylag geese seen in
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1984-400: The abnormal distribution of carotenoid pigments. The term "dilution" is used for situations where the colour is of a lower intensity overall; it is caused by decreased deposition of pigment in the developing feather, and can thus not occur in structural coloration (i.e., "dilute blue" does not exist); pale structural colors are instead achieved by shifting the peak wavelength at which light
2046-531: The above-mentioned examples a brown (phaeomelanin) and grey (eumelanin) morph exist, termed "hepatic form" particularly in the cuckoos. Other cases of natural polymorphism are of various kinds; many are melanic/nonmelanic (some paradise-flycatchers , Terpsiphone , for example), but more unusual types of polymorphism exist – the face colour of the Gouldian finch ( Erythrura gouldiae ) or the courtship types of male ruffs ( Philomachus pugnax ). Albinism in birds
2108-400: The absence of pigment in the irises . The beak , legs, and feet are very pale or white. Albino adults are rare in the wild because their eyesight is poor resulting in greater risk of predation. They are likely easier targets for predators because their colour distinguishes them from their environment. Falconers have observed that their trained birds are likely to attack a white pigeon in
2170-405: The advantage for the birds that the vigilance of some individuals in the group allows the rest to feed without having to constantly be alert to the approach of predators . After the eggs hatch, some grouping of families occur, enabling the geese to defend their young by their joint actions, such as mobbing or attacking predators. After driving off a predator, a gander will return to its mate and give
2232-456: The alarm when the Gauls attacked in 390 BCE . The goose's role in fertility survives in modern British tradition in the nursery rhyme Goosey Goosey Gander , which preserves its sexual overtones ("And in my lady's chamber"), while "to goose" still has a sexual meaning. The tradition of pulling a wishbone derives from the tradition of eating a roast goose at Michaelmas , where the goose bone
2294-608: The autumn, for example completing their departure from Iceland by November, and start their return migration as early as January. Birds that breed in Iceland overwinter in the British Isles; those from Central Europe overwinter as far south as Spain and North Africa; others migrate down to the Balkans, Turkey and Iraq for the winter. Geese are important to multiple culinary traditions. The meat, liver and other organs, fat, skin and blood are used culinarily in various cuisines. The greylag
2356-445: The beginning of their migration, including temperature, predation threat, and food availability. Like all migratory birds, geese exhibit an ability to navigate using an internal compass, using a combination of innate and learned behaviors. The preferred direction of migration is heritable, and birds appear to orient themselves using Earth's magnetic field. Migrations occur over the course of several weeks, and up to 85% of migration time
2418-446: The breast and belly and by their greyish legs. Adults have a distinctive 'concertina' pattern of folds in the feathers on their necks. The greylag goose has a loud cackling call similar to that of the domestic goose, "aahng-ung-ung", uttered on the ground or in flight. There are various subtle variations used under different circumstances, and individual geese seem to be able to identify other known geese by their voices. The sound made by
2480-418: The breeding season, known as the pre-basic moult . This resulting covering of feathers, which will last either until the next breeding season or until the next annual moult, is known as the basic plumage. Many species undertake another moult before the breeding season known as the pre-alternate moult , the resulting breeding plumage being known as the alternate plumage or nuptial plumage. The alternate plumage
2542-556: The coast, seagrass ( Zostera sp.) may be eaten. In the 1920s in Britain, the pink-footed goose "discovered" that potatoes were edible and started feeding on waste potatoes. The greylag followed suit in the 1940s and now regularly searches for tubers on ploughed fields. They also consume small fish , amphibians , crustaceans , molluscs and insects . Greylag geese tend to pair bond in long-term monogamous relationships. Most such pairs are probably life-long partnerships, though 5 to 8% of
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2604-544: The coast, mud-banks in estuaries or secluded lakes. Large numbers of immature birds congregate each year to moult on the Rone Islands near Gotland in the Baltic Sea . Since the 1950s, increases in winter temperatures have resulted in greylag geese breeding in northern and central Europe, reducing their winter migration distances or even becoming resident. Wintering grounds closer to home can therefore be exploited, meaning that
2666-399: The eastern race, Anser anser rubirostris (which like modern farmyard geese, but unlike western greylags, have a pink beak) were painted in Ancient Egypt. Goose feathers were used as quill pens, the best being the primary feathers of the left-wing, whose "curvature bent away from the eyes of right-handed writers". The feathers also served to fletch arrows . In ethology , the greylag goose was
2728-422: The family Anatidae are swans , most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks , which are smaller. The term "goose" may refer to such bird of either sex, but when paired with " gander ", refers specifically to a female one (the latter referring to a male). Young birds before fledging are called goslings . The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle ; when in flight, they are called
2790-497: The flock as a result of their superior strength and courage, leading some to speculate that they may serve as guardians of the flock. The sexual preference of the birds is generally flexible, as more than half of widowers re-pair with a bird of the opposite sex. The nest is on the ground among heather, rushes, dwarf shrubs or reeds, or on a raft of floating vegetation. It is built from pieces of reed, sprigs of heather, grasses and moss, mixed with small feathers and down. A typical clutch
2852-535: The geese can return to set up breeding territories earlier the following spring. In Great Britain, their numbers had declined as a breeding bird, retreating north to breed wild only in the Outer Hebrides and the northern mainland of Scotland. However, during the 20th century, feral populations have been established elsewhere, and they have now re-colonised much of England. These populations are increasingly coming into contact and merging. The greylag goose has become
2914-693: The genus Anser that was erected in 1860 by the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson . It is the type species of the genus. Two subspecies are recognised: A. a. anser , the western greylag goose, which breeds in Iceland and northern and central Europe and A. a. rubrirostris , the eastern greylag goose, which breeds in Romania, Turkey, and Russia eastwards to northeastern China. The two subspecies intergrade where their ranges meet. The greylag goose sometimes hybridises with other species of goose, including
2976-498: The ground among vegetation. A clutch of three to five eggs is laid; the female incubates the eggs and both parents defend and rear the young. The birds stay together as a family group, migrating southwards in autumn as part of a flock, and separating the following year. During the winter they occupy semi-aquatic habitats, estuaries, marshes and flooded fields, feeding on grass and often consuming agricultural crops. Some populations, such as those in southern England and in urban areas across
3038-457: The hunting season for the greylag goose in the Orkney islands is now most of the year. Greylag geese are largely herbivorous and feed chiefly on grasses . Short, actively growing grass is more nutritious and greylag geese are often found grazing in pastures with sheep or cows. Because of its low nutrient status, they need to feed for much of their time; the herbage passes rapidly through the gut and
3100-540: The less energy-intensive trailing positions; in family groups, parental birds almost always lead. Some mainly Southern Hemisphere birds are called "geese", most of which belong to the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae . These are: Others: The oldest collection of Medieval Icelandic laws is known as "Grágás" ; i.e., the Gray Goose Laws . Various etymologies were offered for that name: Plumage Plumage (from Latin pluma 'feather')
3162-401: The male ruff which has an assortment of different colours around the head and neck in the breeding season only. Hen feathering is an inherited plumage character in domestic fowl controlled by a single gene. Plumology (or plumage science ) is the name for the science that is associated with the study of feathers. Almost all species of birds moult at least annually, usually after
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#17328761129543224-497: The nest soon after hatching. Both parents are involved in their care and they soon learn to peck at food and become fully-fledged at eight or nine weeks, about the same time as their parents regain their ability to fly after moulting their main wing and tail feathers a month earlier. Immature birds undergo a similar moult, and move to traditional, safe locations before doing so because of their vulnerability while flightless. Greylag geese are gregarious birds and form flocks. This has
3286-429: The offspring sharing characteristics of both wild and domestic birds. The greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the grey geese of the genus Anser , but is more lightly built and agile than its domestic relative. It has a rotund, bulky body, a thick and long neck, and a large head and bill. It has pink legs and feet, and an orange or pink bill with a white or brown nail (hard horny material at tip of upper mandible). It
3348-499: The pairs separate and re-mate with other geese. Birds in heterosexual pairs may engage in promiscuous behavior, despite the opposition of their mates. Homosexual pairs are common (14 to 20% of the pairs may be ganders, depending on flock), and share the characteristics of heterosexual pairs with the exceptions that the bonds appear to be closer, based on the intensity of their displays. Same-sex pairs also engage in courtship and sexual relations, and often assume high-ranking positions in
3410-446: The partial albinisms is sex-linked and the other is autosomal recessive. A fourth kind of albinism severely reduce pigmentation in the eyes, but only dilutes the pigment in the plumage. Abnormally white feathers are not always due to albinism. Injury or disease may change their color, including dietary deficiencies or circulatory problems during feather development. Aging may also turn a bird's feathers white. Hen feathering in cocks
3472-474: The pigment melanin . The white areas may be symmetrical, with both sides of the bird showing a similar pattern. In imperfect albinism , the pigment is partially inhibited in the skin , eyes , or feathers, but is not absent from any of them. Incomplete albinism is the complete absence of pigment from the skin, eyes, or feathers, but not all three. A completely albino bird is the most rare. The eyes in this case are pink or red, because blood shows through in
3534-472: The species' range, are primarily resident and occupy the same area year-round. The greylag goose was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . He placed it with the ducks in the genus Anas and coined the binomial name Anas anser . The specific epithet is Latin meaning "goose". The greylag goose is now one of 11 geese placed in
3596-560: The subject of Konrad Lorenz 's pioneering studies of imprinting behaviour . Goose A goose ( pl. : geese ) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae . This group comprises the genera Anser (grey geese and white geese) and Branta (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyptian goose , Orinoco goose ) are commonly called geese, but are not considered "true geese" taxonomically. More distantly related members of
3658-631: The true geese. 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
3720-864: The wild in New Zealand probably originated from the escape of farmyard geese, and a similar situation has occurred in Australia, where feral birds are now established in the east and southeast of the country. In their breeding quarters, they are found on moors with scattered lochs, in marshes, fens and peat-bogs, besides lakes and on little islands some way out to sea. They like dense ground cover of reeds, rushes, heather, bushes and willow thickets. In their winter quarters, they frequent salt marshes, estuaries, freshwater marshes, steppes, flooded fields, bogs and pasture near lakes, rivers and streams. They also visit agricultural land where they feed on winter cereals, rice, beans or other crops, moving at night to shoals and sand-banks on
3782-591: Was once believed to have the powers of an oracle. For that festival, in Thomas Bewick 's time, geese were driven in thousand-strong flocks on foot from farms all over the East of England to London's Cheapside market, covering some 13 or 14 kilometres (8 or 9 mi) per day. Some farmers painted the geese's feet with tar and sand to protect them from road wear as they walked. Greylag geese were domesticated by at least 1360 BCE, when images of domesticated birds resembling
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#17328761129543844-598: Was once revered across Eurasia. It was linked with the goddess of healing, Gula , a forerunner of the Sumerian fertility goddess Ishtar , in the cities of the Tigris - Euphrates delta over 5,000 years ago. In Ancient Egypt , geese symbolised the sun god Ra . In Ancient Greece and Rome , they were associated with the goddess of love, Aphrodite , and goose fat was used as an aphrodisiac . Since they were sacred birds, they were kept on Rome's Capitoline Hill , from where they raised
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