Red-breasted goose: description, habitat, breeding

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The red-breasted goose is considered a narrow-range species. At the moment, the population is stable, although the species remains in a rather serious condition, since the places for molting and nesting are actively developed by people.

The bird in appearance is a small goose with very bright plumage. And if you are wondering how to draw a red-throated goose, then you need to know that the top of the head, neck, forehead and back, tail, belly and wings are black.

The head has large rusty spots on the sides with a white outline. The area of the goiter and the front of the neck are red. The legs are black and the beak is relatively small for a goose.

Distribution

Outside the nesting area of this species - Altai Territory. Migratory geese fly along the entire Lower Ob, as well as from the Yenisei Bay from Taimyr to the mouth of the river. Irtysh. Fixed path along the Tobol. In the autumn period in the past, the goose was also often observed on the Baraba reservoirs (in this article you can see their pictures). The Red-breasted Goose sometimes appears in the Altai Territory; this can be regarded as a flight of birds that have moved away from their main course of the migration route. These rare flightssometimes occur during the migratory autumn period.

Most often, the red-throated goose is found on the Kulunda lake. In this place it was observed three times in September. In the floodplain Both of these geese were caught in the Pavlovsk region in 1961, in addition, their presence was noted in the Petropavlovsk region; near the village of Nizhneozerskoye on Lake Stepnoe, which is located in Ust-Pristansky; in the lower reaches of the river Charysh. This goose along the river. Alei is noted in Aleisky and Rubtsovsky districts; the view in the upper Alei is periodically found in the Gilevsky reserve in the autumn. The red-breasted goose, according to the stories of hunters, also happens in the Romanovsky district on the lakes Gorkoye, Gorkoye-Peresheechnoye and Bolshoye Ostrovnoye.

Besides, the bird was recorded in the Swan Reserve in 1993, on the Gilevsky reservoir in 1997, where a flock of 20 birds was noticed in October; in the spring of 1997, one individual was recorded at the mouth of the Chumysh, as well as on a flooded meadow near the village of Akutikha. Single rare individuals are recorded in the Mamontovsky and Khabarsky regions; on Lake Stepnoe in August 2003, 2 specimens were kept; near the village of Novichikha in 2003, 6 red-breasted geese were observed in the Akininsky swamp. They were rarely recorded in autumn and spring on the lakes Lyapunikha and Belenkoye in the Uglovsky district.

Habitats (photo)

The Red-breasted Goose nests from the forest-tundra to the boundary of typical tundra, while the most favorable nesting areas of these birds are associated with tundra and shrublands - where they are located on ledges or near the edgesteep slopes along the banks of rivers and lakes. During migrations, they stay near water bodies.

Numbers

As mentioned above, recently there has been a positive trend in the general state of the population of this species. Most often, loners fly into the Altai Territory, mainly with geese in flocks of other species. Sometimes groups of 25 individuals or less were observed, although flocks are much more numerous. For example, up to 50 individuals were kept on Lake Kulunda in 1986, and in 1985 and 1989. – approximately one hundred.

Features of biology

Birds arrive at their nesting sites in the first half of June in already established pairs. In the same month, in the twentieth, they begin to actively lay eggs. They mostly nest in small colonies of 5 or more pairs, sometimes in separate pairs. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of three. Every year, no more than 38% of the entire population participate in nesting, while in unfavorable years - only 4%. In a normal, complete clutch there can be up to 7 eggs, their female incubates for 27 days, then the chicks hatch, touching in the photo.

The red-breasted goose is exclusively herbivorous. Until 1968, the main wintering areas were considered to be the territories of the southern Caspian Sea, today - lakes in the western part of the Black Sea region and the lower reaches of the Danube River.

Regularly bred since 1960 in Slimbridge, International Waterfowl Centre. It is also bred in the Walsrode zoo, as well as in various private airlines in Europe. The offspring was also obtained inMoscow Zoo.

Protection measures

So that the red-throated goose does not degenerate, strict control is carried out over the full observance of environmental legislation, in addition, education of the population, including hunters.