Kelp Goose

Kelp Goose
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Tadorninae
Genus:	Chloephaga
Species:	C. hybrida
Binomial name
Chloephaga hybrida (Molina, 1782)
Subspecies
C. h. hybrida (Molina, 1782) C. h. malvinarum (Phillips, 1916)

The Kelp Goose (Spanish: Caranca or Cauquén Marino), Chloephaga hybrida, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. It can be found in the Southern part of South America; in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands.

Habitat

Kelp geese inhabit areas of southern Chile and Argentina, mainly in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands. They habitat rocky coasts around their food sources.

Description

Males are a white color, with a black beak, and yellow feet. The females are dark brown, with transverse gray lines on the chest, and yellow feet.^[1][2]

Behavior

Kelp geese generally have clutches of 2-7 eggs. They prefer to hide their eggs in long grass. The eggs hatch about a month later.

There are about 15,000 breeding pairs in existence.^[2]

Ecology

Kelp geese are noted for only eating kelp and will migrate along the coast of South America in order to find kelp, hence the name 'kelp geese'.

Trivia

In the Falkland Islands and Argentina there are kelp geese stamps.

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  Female on East Falkland

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  A pair on East Falkland

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  Two females, one male, and two juveniles on Chiloé, Chile.

References

1. ^ ""Birds of the Falkland Islands: Kelp Goose"". http://www.falklands.net/BirdGuideKelpGoose.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 
2. ^ ^{a b} ""Kelp Goose"". Archived from the original on 2007-05-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20070503183651/http://www.avesdechile.cl/048en.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 

External links

• BirdLife International (2004). Chloephaga hybrida. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.