goose

goose, common name for large wild and domesticated swimming birds related to the duck and the swan. Strictly speaking, the term goose is applied to the female and gander to the male. In North America the wild (or Canada) goose, Branta canadensis, is known by its honking call and by the migrating V-shaped flocks in spring and fall. Other wild geese are the brant (any species of the genus Branta, particularly B. bernicla) and the blue, snow, and white-fronted (or laughing) geese. Among the domestic geese are the popular Toulouse (or gray) goose (descended from the graylag, Anser anser, of Europe), the African goose, the Embden goose, and the Asian breeds (developed from the wild Chinese goose). Geese were raised in ancient times by the Romans and other Europeans and were sacred in Egypt 4,000 years ago. Forcible feeding is used to fatten geese and to enlarge the liver for use in making pâté de foie gras. Geese are classifed in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Anseriformes, family Anatidae.

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goose

Any of various large, heavy-bodied waterfowl (family Anatidae), especially those of the genera Anser (so-called gray geese) and Branta (so-called black geese), which are found only in the Northern Hemisphere. Intermediate in size and build between ducks and swans, geese are less fully aquatic than either, and their legs are farther forward, allowing them to walk readily. Geese have a specially modified bill for grasping sedges and grasses, their main diet. The sexes are alike in coloration; males (called ganders) are usually larger than females. Both sexes utter loud honking or gabbling cries while in flight or when danger appears. Geese pair for life. Flocks traveling in V-formations migrate between their northern breeding grounds and southern wintering grounds. See also barnacle goose; Canada goose; greylag; nene.

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goose

1. any of various web-footed long-necked birds of the family Anatidae: order Anseriformes. They are typically larger and less aquatic than ducks and are gregarious and migratory

2. the female of such a bird, as opposed to the male (gander)

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goose [güs]

(vertebrate zoology)

The common name for a number of waterfowl in the subfamily Anatinae; they are intermediate in size and features between ducks and swans.