Spur-winged Goose

Facts

IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

Facts about this animal

The spur-winged goose is by far the largest of the perching ducks with a body-weight of 5.4 to 6.8 kg in males and 4 to 5.4 kg in females.

The spur-winged goose has a characteristic knob on the forehead. The bill is large and pinkish red with a white nail. Older bords have puplish spots of bare skin on the sides of the neck. The legs and large feet are pinkish, and the iris dark brown. There is a prominent carpal spur.

The plumage of the upper side of neck and body is black or blackish brown. The underparts are white. The wings are black and white, the tail black with green iridescence.

Nest sites are variable, but usually on the ground in grass or reed beds. 6 to 15 white eggs are laid, which are incubated for 30-32 days.

Did you know?
that the spur-winged goose was one of the first subsaharan bird species known to science? It was described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné in the twelfth edition of his "Systema Naturae".

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	ANSERIFORMES
Suborder	ANSERES
Family	ANATIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Plectropterus gambensis
Name (English)	Spur-winged Goose
Name (French)	Oie de Gambie
Name (German)	Sporengans
Name (Spanish)	Ganso de Gambia, Ganso espolonado
Local names	Afrikaans: Wildemakou
CITES Status	Appendix III (Danemark)
CMS Status	Appendix II (as Anatidae spp.) Included in AEWA

Photo Copyright by
Fabian Schmidt

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Subsaharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo Dem., Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia. Ghana. Guinea. Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger. Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone. South Africa. Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Vagrants may be encountered in Morocco and Oman.
Habitat	Freshwater wetlands.
Wild population	The global population is estimated to be 350,000 to 500,000 individuals by Wetlands International (2002).
Zoo population	65 reported to ISIS (2006).

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 17 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Christian Schmidt

Why do zoos keep this animal

The comb duck is not an endangered species but is of educational interest because of its specific anatomical features, in particular the sharp carpal spur, and its behavioural patterns. It is also a good ambassador species for the conservation of African wetlands.

How this animal should be kept

For a pair of spurwinged geese an enclosure with a land surface of 100 m² and a water surface of 20 m². or an aviary of 50 m² including a pool of 6 m² is recommended. If kept in temperate or cold climatic zones, a frost free shelter with an indoor pool is required during winter.

Note that WAZA has adopted the policy of outphasing pinioning, and that several countries prohibit the use of surgical methods for flight restraint.