| Ruddy-headed goose | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Chloephaga |
| Species: | C. rubidiceps |
| Binomial name | |
| Chloephaga rubidiceps Sclater, PL, 1861 | |
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The ruddy-headed goose (Chloephaga rubidiceps) is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. [2] [3]
The ruddy-headed goose is 45 to 52.5 cm (18 to 21 in) long. Males weigh 1.65 to 2.02 kg (3.6 to 4.5 lb) and females 1.20 to 1.50 kg (2.6 to 3.3 lb). Adults have the same plumage. Their heads and necks are red-brown, their back, breast, and flanks gray and buff with brown barring, their belly cinnamon, and their tail black. Their wing's upperside is gray and the underside gray, black, and white. Their bill is black and the legs and feet orange with black markings. Juveniles are similar to adults but duller overall. [4]
The ruddy-headed goose is found in the eastern Chilean and Argentinian parts of Tierra del Fuego and north from there to Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is also found on the Falkland Islands. It inhabits open landscapes such as meadows, Pampas wetlands, the borders of ponds, and coastal grasslands. [4]
Ruddy-headed geese are year-round residents of the Falkland Islands, though they make local movements there. The species nests in Tierra del Fuego and far southern mainland Argentina and for the winter migrates north from there as far as Argentina's Buenos Aires Province. [4]
The ruddy-headed goose is almost entirely vegetarian and feeds mostly on the ground rather than in water. On the breeding grounds its diet is small berries and the roots, leaves, stems, and seeds of grasses and sedges. During winter it feeds on young wheat and in harvested fields of maize, sunflower, and sorghum. [4]
The ruddy-headed goose's breeding season begins as early as September on the Falkland Islands and in mid-October on the mainland. It nests singly or in small loose groups. Nests are placed in long grass or amid boulders and are lined with down. The clutch size is three to eight eggs. Males guard females during the incubation period of about 30 days. The time to fledging is not known. [4]
Male and female ruddy-headed geese have different vocalizations: Males make a "short, whistled 'seep'" and females a "short rasping quack". [4]
The IUCN has assessed the ruddy-headed goose as being of Least Concern, though its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing. The population in the Falklands appears robust but that in Tierra del Fuego and mainland South America may be only a few hundred birds after major decline in the 20th century. [1] [5] A major cause of the crash is predation by the South American gray fox, which was introduced to Tierra del Fuego in the 1950s to control rabbits. [6] A Memorandum of Understanding was negotiated in 2006 with Argentina and Chile under the Bonn Convention in an attempt to safeguard the remaining migratory Tierra del Fuego/mainland population. [7]
The Canada goose, or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water, the Canada goose is also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons.
The black-necked swan is a species of waterfowl in tribe Cygnini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands.
The Andean goose is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
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The ashy-headed goose is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.
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The kelp goose is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.
The flying steamer duck, also known as the flying steamer-duck or flying steamerduck, is a species of South American duck in the family Anatidae.
The Fuegian steamer duck or the Magellanic flightless steamer duck, is a flightless duck native to South America. It belongs to the steamer duck genus Tachyeres. It inhabits the rocky coasts and coastal islands from southern Chile and Chiloé to Tierra del Fuego, switching to the adjacent sheltered bays and lakes further inland when breeding.
Chloephaga is a genus of sheldgeese in the family Anatidae. Other sheldgeese are found in the genera Alopochen and Neochen.
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The white-bridled finch, also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Melanodera together with the yellow-bridled finch. Formerly placed in the family Emberizidae, it is now considered a tanager. It is found in grassland in southernmost South America. There are two subspecies: M. m. melanodera in the Falkland Islands and M. m. princetoniana in southern Argentina and Chile.
Cerro Sombrero is a village in southern Chile. It is located in the Primavera commune in the Magallanes Region, in the northern part of Tierra del Fuego, about 125 km from Porvenir. According to the 2002 census, it had 687 inhabitants.
The Magellanic oystercatcher is a species of wader in the family Haematopodidae. It is found in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands in freshwater lake and sandy shore habitats.
The Patagonian mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in much of Argentina and locally in Chile.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Conservation Measures for the Ruddy-headed Goose is a Bilateral Environmental Memorandum of Understanding between Argentina and Chile and was concluded under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention. The MoU was concluded as part of the Special Protocol on the Conservation of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed by Argentina and Chile in 2002, and entered into effect on 21 November 2006. It focuses on the protection of the mainland population of the ruddy-headed goose. The MoU is exclusively South American and covers two range States, both of which have signed.
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