We know that geese are sociable birds and hunters who are passionate about this hunt need to know and understand their rolls. If you hunt with spirit decoys, this is easy to learn. With experience, you can easily determine from the voices and behavior of birds their intentions in relation to your distribution.
For example, a small flock flies over your skradka at a height of 25-30 meters, the birds actively communicate with each other, respond to decoys, and there is every chance to lower the flock even lower. The flock did not break, but flew in one herd, and this is a sign of alertness. On the next lap the geese flew away - an experienced hunter would have found his bearings in time and managed to get the geese, because the distance allowed him to make a good shot.
Let's consider another situation, from approximately one point the geese begin to turn around and fly away from your skradki, giving sounds of danger. For an experienced hunter, this is a hint that something is wrong, for example, in disguise or something else, and you need to look for a mistake. Or such a situation, a flock of geese flying at a decent height, 300 meters, began to respond to your decoys, the geese circled over the stuffed animals, began to break into many small herds and fly over the stuffed animals in several floors (as hunters say).
At the same time, the geese are actively giving their voice, take your time, these geese have intentions to join your stuffed animals. If possible, try to keep the geese as low as possible, as long as you have patience. It is an indescribable feeling when geese fly 5 meters above you, and some are already sitting in stuffed animals. You hear the flapping of wings, the crackling of feathers - this is a completely different stage of hunting than shooting geese at a distance of 30-40 meters. Now let's listen to the sound files and try to make out the voices of the geese:
3. The sound of danger. In our case, the geese noticed the video camera, if these sounds are repeated regularly, look for a mistake. As a rule, it is disguise or poor quality of profiles or stuffed animals.
5. A flock of white-fronted geese. When the geese give a voice like this and begin to break, you can plant them, everything suits them.
6. This is a continuation of file 5. Geese are already flying at an altitude of 10-15 meters, and there is a further decline. An indescribable feeling.
7. Roll call of a small flock of white-fronted geese. Have fun and lure them point-blank.
8. Mixed flock of white-fronted and bean goose. Only 6 of them were separated from the pack, the rest in one herd - the first sign of doubt. When flying within 15-20 meters, shoot, there are doubting geese in the flock.
Currently, sport hunting for geese is a hobby for millions of people in many countries of the world. A civilized hunter must know the rules of hunting in his region and be able to distinguish between protected species of geese and those for which hunting is permitted.
Gray geese, white-fronted geese and bean geese belong to the genus Anser of the family of duck Anatidae of the order Anseriformes.
Goose gray |
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Features. Large goose. Body length reaches 90 cm, wingspan up to 1.5 - 1.7 meters. The weight of adult males in autumn reaches 3.5 - 5 kg. Females are slightly smaller. The color of the plumage is light gray. In sexually mature birds, the goiter and abdomen are covered with small black transverse streaks. The beak is solid pink with a white claw at the end. Paws are red-pink. The eyes are light brown. The voice is sharp, cackling, reminiscent of the sounds made by domestic geese. The flight of gray geese is fast, during long-distance flights they fly high, often lining up in a wedge. They are usually not mixed with other types of geese.
Habitat. Mostly inhabits southern half Russia. Especially readily nests on large lakes with reed beds, in river deltas, in floodplains and estuaries. The main livestock is concentrated in the Volga delta, Kazakhstan, and Western Siberia. Breeds unevenly in the European part. Prefers biotopes of the forest-steppe and steppe zones. Winters in Azerbaijan, in the south of Ukraine, in the republics Central Asia, as well as in Western Europe, South and South-East Asia.
Number, in last years, has stabilized and according to some sources reaches up to 150 thousand individuals.
White goose |
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Features. The most numerous species of our geese. Body length 60 - 90 cm, wingspan up to 1.5 meters. The weight of adult males in autumn reaches 2.5 - 3 kg. The color of the plumage of an adult bird is mainly gray, lighter below, the undertail is white. On the forehead there is a white spot surrounded by a dark border. Sexually mature birds have large transverse black streaks on their belly. The beak is 40 - 55 mm long, pinkish, with a white claw at the end, orange legs. Young birds have no white spot on the forehead and no dark streaks on the belly. Unlike other species of geese, the tail of the white-fronted goose protrudes from under the ends of folded wings. The male's voice is high, sharp, piercing, two or three-syllable; the female is dominated by low-frequency components.
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Gander call |
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Active summoning gander |
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Goose Call |
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Goose siege |
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Small flock bazaar |
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Resting flock bazaar |
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Flyby Bazaar |
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TUNDRA (WESTERN AND EASTERN) SUBSPECIES (Anser Frossicus)
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Features. The most numerous subspecies of bean goose. Body length 70 - 75 cm, wingspan up to 1.5 meters. The weight of a goose of this subspecies reaches 3 - 4 kg. The color of the plumage is dominated by brown-gray tones. The upper part of the small head and neck is dark brown. The goiter and belly are light gray. The rim of the feathers is white. The bill is relatively short, swollen, usually no more than 70 mm. Mandible with pronounced thickening in the center. The base and claw are black, the band is noticeably narrow, yellow-red in color. Paws are yellow-orange. The voice is harsh, giggling, squeaky, mostly with a predominance of low and medium tones. Habitat. Nesting areas of the tundra bean goose are widespread in the mainland tundra and forest-tundra bogs. This subspecies is also found on some Arctic islands. Winter in Western Europe, Mediterranean, South and Southeast Asia. |
FOREST SPECIES (Anser Fabalis)
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Features.Large bird of dense constitution. Body length 70 - 90 cm, wingspan 1.5 - 1.7 meters. Weight from 3 to 4.5 kg. The head and neck are brownish with a slight ocher tinge. The front part of the back and wing coverts are grayish-brown, the middle of the back, the loin and the flight feathers are black-brown. Craw and breast are whitish-gray. The belly and undertail are white. The sides are dark with light transverse stripes, the beak is large, two-colored: black with a wide orange band, ends with a black claw, the legs are red-orange. The voice gives off sharply, mainly a low-frequency two or three complex nasal guttural cackle. Habitat. Inhabits forest and forest-tundra biotopes in Western Siberia. It nests spontaneously, in pairs or in small family groups in the interfluves and along the edges of remote lakes. Does not form colonies. A very careful bird. Overwinters in Western Europe, Mediterranean, South and Southeast Asia. |
TAIGA subspecies (Anser Fabalis Latham)
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Features. Large bird. Body length 70 - 90 cm, wingspan 1.5 - 1.7 meters. Weight 3.5 - 4.5 kg. The color of the plumage is mainly gray-brown, the crop and breast are gray, the undertail is white. On the sides of an adult goose, light transverse stripes are clearly visible, which are not present in young birds. The head and neck are noticeably darker than the main background. The beak is large black with an orange-red band and a dark claw. Paws are bright orange. In-flight voice ─ low-frequency dissyllabic repetitive gurgling sounds. An extremely cautious bird. Habitat. The abundance of the taiga bean goose is distributed very unevenly within the areola. The assessment of the state of this subspecies varies, according to various sources, from 15,000 to 60,000 individuals and reflects the general trend of decreasing numbers. Inhabits forest and forest-tundra biotopes of Eastern Siberia. Winters in Western Europe, the Mediterranean, South and Southeast Asia. |
Short-billed subspecies (Anser Brachyrhynchus)
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Features.The smallest among the bean goose. Body length 65 - 68 cm, wingspan up to 1.3 meters. Weight approx. 3 kg. The plumage is generally dark, black-brown on the upper side of the head, rusty-brown on the neck, dull black upper back, white undertail, gray chest and belly, short, thick, dark beak with a pink-red band. The wings are short, when folded, they do not reach the end of the tail, the front part of which is noticeably paler. A voice with short, harsh, gurgling sounds of low and medium tones characteristic of the bean. Habitat. Island subspecies of the bean goose. Some bird watchers consider it a separate species that has stood out as a result of geographical isolation from the mainland bean goose. Its nesting areas are located in the inland swamps of Iceland, Svalbard, East Greenland. In Russia, it is found in the north-west of the country. A case of shooting a ringed bird was recorded on Lake Ilmen. Breeds on Yugorsky Peninsula and Kolguev Island in small numbers. Winters in England, the Netherlands, Greenland. |
THE WHITE SHEET |
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Branta Leucopsis
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Features. A small goose of the genus geese, the family of duck. Body length 60 - 70 cm, wing length 38 - 43 cm, weight 1 - 2.5 kg. Has a two-colored plumage. Black above, white below. On the sides of the body there are gray stripes. The black "cap" on the head extends to the neck, goiter and forms a sharp border with the light chest. The cheeks are white with the exception of the black frenulum running from the base of the beak to the eyes. The male and female are indistinguishable in color. The voice is sharp, piercing. Resembles a hoarse barking or coughing. The flight is fast. Birds often rebuild, break formation, fly in a dense flock.
Habitat. They hibernate on the shores of the northern seas, in Holland, Germany, Denmark. Spring migration goes on a rather narrow front along the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas. Breeds in large numbers on Novaya Zemlya and Vaygach Island. In recent decades, they have mastered the open tundra and coastal meadows on the coast of the Barents Sea.
In 1997 it was removed from the Red Book of Russia. Currently, the population has increased to half a million and continues to grow rapidly (E.N. Gurtovaya). The first reason for the rise was the protection on dreams of wintering and the restoration of forage lands on the flyways. The late periods of migration of the barnacle geese are of considerable importance. Due to this, the bulk of the birds pass by after the closing of the spring hunting season (VB Zimin). During autumn migration, according to individual tagging data (Afanasyev 2005), from nesting sites from the mouth of the Pechora River to wintering grounds in Western Europe (approximately 3000 km), no more than two or three short-term stops are made and reach the goal in 1 - 3 days ...
Characteristics of the wintering places of the white-fronted goose in Europe and Western Asia
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Country |
Number |
Average |
Lim and average geographic coordinates |
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I. North European wintering grounds of the white-fronted goose |
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England |
1 |
0,35-4,9 |
51.35 N |
2.45 W |
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II. Central European wintering grounds for the white-fronted goose |
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Hungary |
16 |
0,32-7,62 |
46.15-47.37 N |
17.09-21.36 E |
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III. Southern European wintering grounds for the white-fronted goose |
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Bulgaria |
6,2-111,2 |
42.04-44.02 N |
24.30-28.32 E |
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IV. European-Western Asian wintering of the white-fronted goose |
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Turkey |
7 |
0,7-10,33 |
38.12-39.32 N |
29.56-35.14 E |
Key bird areas of the European part of Russia,
in which the white-fronted goose is a significant spring migrant
Olonets spring flocks of birds. Geese
V.B. Zimin, A.V. Artemiev, N.V. Lapshin, A.R. Tyulin. 2007, Science publishing house
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Territory name |
Geographic |
Number |
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Nenets Autonomous Okrug |
66 ° 49 "N 46 ° 30" E |
Mass stops |
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Komi Republic |
62 ° 16 "N 50 ° 36" E |
500 - 1 000 |
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Arhangelsk region |
61 ° 50 "N 38 ° 55" E |
Mass stops |
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Republic of Karelia |
60 ° 56 "N 32 ° 55" E |
500 000 - 7 500 000 |
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Kaliningrad region |
54 ° 56 "N 21 ° 14" E |
Mass stops |
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Leningrad region |
60 ° 00 "N 29 ° 15" E |
3 000 |
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Pskov region |
58 ° 30 "N 27 ° 40" E |
Numerous |
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Novgorod region |
58 ° 10 "N 31 ° 20" E |
Indicated in publications |
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Vologda Region |
59 ° 20 "N 38 ° 30" E |
20 000 - 50 000 |
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Yaroslavskaya oblast |
57 ° 43 "N 39 ° 13" E |
3 000 |
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Ivanovo region |
56 ° 30 "N 41 ° 45" E |
Up to 20,000 at the beginning of the span |
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Tver region |
57 ° 00 "N 36 ° 30" E |
1 000 - 2 000 |
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Moscow region |
56 ° 42 "N 38 ° 02" E |
7 000 |
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Ryazan Oblast |
55 ° 35 "N 40 ° 00" E |
10 000 - 12 000 |
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Kaluga region |
54 ° 10 "N 35 ° 55" E |
6 000 - 15 000 |
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Bryansk region |
52 ° 30 "N 33 ° 37" E |
20 000 |
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Tambov Region |
52 ° 44 "N 40 ° 20" E |
4 000 - 5 000 |
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Rostov region |
48 ° 00 "N 42 ° 40" E |
Stops |
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Krasnodar region |
46 ° 30 "N 38 ° 25" E |
Stops |
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Stavropol region |
45 ° 13 "N 42 ° 51" E |
Stops |
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The Republic of Dagestan |
41 ° 52 "N 48 ° 30" E |
Common |
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The Republic of Mordovia |
54 ° 23 "N 43 ° 50" E |
5 000 - 15 000 |
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Republic of Tatarstan |
56 ° 05 "N 49 ° 50" E |
1 500 - 2 000 |
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Saratov region |
50 ° 18 "N 48 ° 40" E |
Stops |
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Volgograd region |
50 ° 18 "N 46 ° 25" E |
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Republic of Kalmykia |
46 ° 11 "N 43 ° 00" E |
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Orenburg region |
50 ° 59 "N 61 ° 35" E |
Common |
ACOUSTIC SIGNALING OF THE WHITE GOose ANSER ALBIFRONS
(Thesis of the candidate of biological sciences Krechmar Evgeniy Arsenevich, St. Petersburg, 2008)
general characteristics
In birds, acoustic signaling has a special place among all forms of communicative behavior. The ability to fly requires both "mobile" and remote (at a distance) effective communication channel. It is characteristic of birds high level a variety of sound responses, which is reflected both in the richness of forms and in the flexibility of their use in conditions of tasks that change throughout the annual cycle. For birds with the maturonate type of offspring, which include Anseriformes, differentiation of the use of acoustic communication when communicating in various social groups at different stages of the breeding period is characteristic.
The development of the acoustic repertoire of the white-fronted goose is divided into two main stages. At the first stage, the formation and formation of a youthful (juvenile) repertoire takes place, at the second - an adult (definitive) one.
The repertoire of females contains signals comparable in terms of the characteristics of filling the frequency range with males; the main part of their acoustic repertoire has a more pronounced low-frequency content. In males, on the other hand, there is a narrower range of frequencies that make up the energy spectral maximum in the signals of the repertoire.
The frequency range used by males completely overlaps with the frequency range used in acoustic signaling by females. The voice of female white-fronted goose has a wider frequency range than that of males. At the same time, a significant part of the signals from the repertoire of females is characterized by the predominance of well-expressed low-frequency components.
The white-fronted goose is a species in which the polyfunctionality of the acoustic signals of the repertoire is the norm. An exception is the two-pounding call of the AM11 male, used to warn of danger to chicks at short distances. Four signals (A2; AM9; AF10; AF14) had a high level of multifunctionality. In addition to flight, they were used for foraging behavior and for various types of land-water locomotion. The ground contact-orienting "quiet" signal of the AM7 male accompanied the largest number (6) forms of locomotor activity. Signals AM7 and AF13, in their specificity, were ground contact. They were used in close co-operation in tight groups, especially in broods and brood groups. These signals accompany "calm" forms of behavioral activity that are not directly related to the complex of anxiety-defensive actions.
Throughout the life cycle of the white-fronted goose, the stages of development of acoustic signaling are consistent with the stages of ontogenesis. The role of acoustic signaling varies at different stages of the life cycle. The entire sequence of changing age repertoires corresponds to the information needs of different life cycles. At different stages of the life cycle, the conditions and tasks of the existence of geese change. However, there is no direct correlation between the number of tasks corresponding to developmental stages and the diversity of the current repertoire. First of all, this is explained by the phenomenon of the probabilistic specificity of the signal repertoire, in which the polyfunctionality of individual signals manifests itself with different levels of probability in different situational contexts.
When solving biological and specific current behavioral tasks, the information load is determined by the need for the amount of information necessary and sufficient for the proper implementation of the required forms of behavior. Requirements for the level of reliability of information transmission also differ from task to task. In some cases (such as a state of extreme danger threatening the life of an individual or brood), the requirements for reliability are very high, in other cases (foraging, orientation-demonstrative behavior, for example), the reliability of the communication channel may be low. The acoustic communication channel provides a high level of reliability. A number of physical prerequisites characteristic of acoustic signaling determine the effectiveness of the acoustic communication channel in the conditions of the existence of the white-fronted goose in the breeding grounds.
Considering the list of parameters that are important when considering the requirements for communication channels for the white-fronted goose, the following important characteristics can be noted that make the acoustic channel irreplaceable: circular orientation, range, noise immunity, secrecy, efficiency and the possibility of localization. All of the above prerequisites make acoustic signaling in the white-fronted goose the main and most effective channel of communication and orientation.
All other possible channels impose serious restrictions on the ability to transmit information in the various conditions typical for the habitat of this species. The acoustic signaling of the white-fronted goose is a typical example of an optimized, expedient species communication system, flexibly adapted to a wide range of vital tasks and functions at different stages of the life cycle.
Designations of signals of a white-fronted goose.
Andrey Shalygin: I think it's not a secret for anyone that such "simple" sounds and their "designation" as "woof-woof-woof" and "meow-meow-meow", in fact, have nothing to do with real sounds published animals do not. To demonstrate this fact, it is enough to know how the same sounds are called by the inhabitants of other countries.
If anyone else does not know, it turns out that cats and dogs from different countries meow and bark "at different languages"in completely different ways. And not at all because they really do it differently. But because each nation has historically had its own basic species diversity of these animals and its own musical abilities in depicting voices.
Therefore, our (inappropriate) dog "woof-woof-woof" may somewhere be traditional in the version "wow-wow-wow". Albanian dogs are doing "ham-ham". In Catalonia, dogs bark bap-bap. Chinese say "wang-wang", Greek - "wow-wang", Slovenian - "hov-hov", Ukrainian - "haf-haf". In Iceland it is "woff", in Indonesia it is "gong gong" and in Italian it is "bau bau".
"Visiting meeting of the School of Manna Hunting". Photo - Olga Frunze.
Of course, as a result, with such a species diversity, which geese and ducks are presented to us, as well as the absurdity that decoy producers demonstrate - the dubious musical abilities of specific people and "schools" superimposed on these factors, as a result show a total "belibird" , not man. That, however, does not prevent them from selling their products and teaching others for money.
If they also understood the bird, it would be tolerable. But, as it turned out, even the birds' voices themselves (not that their "language") are generally unknown to the producers of decoys. Some kind of pipe, forgive the "crap", and say that this is "it" ... But have you ever heard this very "it"?
The same pheasant has a voice almost in sounds like a crow, but by ear it is quite clear that it is not a crow. At the same time, in flight, it emits an "identification and warning" sound, which I personally designate as a throat "ktk-ktk". How many people - so many descriptions. And the sound must be reproduced accurately.
And even if we take lessons from the most famous beckoners in the World, then even the same Fred Zink about the most famous sound imitation of the mallard duck, says that many professional beckoners pronounce “feed chatter” as “tygi-dygi” and so on. ., although he thinks that it is really just based on the elementary "you-you-you" ... So the Masters have disagreements. But this is with the Masters. And here in Russia, as it turned out, many "manufacturers" can not even determine the specificity of the sound, nor did they even hear these sounds.
And someone says, "and they also do it like this and like this ...." If you knew what else they do, you wouldn't say. It is also impossible to interfere with everything in one heap, but these are already "higher matters", and many have big problems with the basics.
It often happens - only half a year ago, a person could not do a nicherta in mana. He grumbled about half a year on cinematography and already a "venerable connoisseur", it turns out. But only yesterday, in the wake of carp, he brought it to tourists ... Now already a "master". I assure you - the greater the border of your Knowledge, the more you will feel how great your Ignorance is, and the less you will think that you can do something.
Fair? In fact, in semolina hunting in Russia, practically no one really knows how to do anything. It turns out that you need to start from the very basics, even when talking to "professionals" (who, in fact, are "no ear or snout"). Okay. Then let's start with goose mana.
The following types of geese are widespread in Russia:
- white-fronted goose ( Anser albifrons);
- grey goose ( Anser anser);
- white goose ( Anser canagicus);
- white goose ( Anser caerulescens);
- sukhonos ( Anser cygnoides);
- lesser White-fronted Goose ( Anser erythropus);
- bean goose ( Anser fabalis);
- mountain goose ( Anser indicus).
To date, there is no exact data on their number and distribution. Throughout the world, the most widespread historically has always been the gray goose, which for this reason was first domesticated, about 4000 years ago in Egypt. But the large gray goose has recently been knocked out more and more, and the small bean goose, which nests not only in the North, but also far to the south, including Altai, the eastern border with China and Mongolia, is becoming more and more widespread.
But due to the fact of the modern production of decoys and the spread of the goose in America (which is the trendsetter of modern semolina hunting), as well as due to the species preponderance in the northwestern part of Russia, which is most demanded by the mass hunter, the white-fronted goose is today imitated most massively and predominantly (which is wrong).
Many hunters of St. Petersburg and Moscow will immediately raise a "hubbub" - we have only "white-fronted", where is this most massive gray goose? Well, gentlemen, and Russia, in fact, is not only Moscow and St. Petersburg (as you are all used to), and Tver, where you all (both) go hunting. But in Kazakhstan and in the east of Astrakhan, there is practically one gray, and this is not even a third of Russia to the east. To the north, everyone has at most one road - to Murmansk ... And all natural science ended there. And who has been further from you? Well then, we sit quietly and read smart books.
"A flock of white-fronted geese" performed by Alexey Manannikov and Igor Babaev
Video - Andrey Shalygin.
It should be borne in mind that this demonstration was conducted not on camera, but during more than an hour's lesson of the Manna Hunt, and right after the "quack". Therefore, the participants of the "Master-Class" did not warm up, but immediately began to "cackle". Therefore, the participants themselves said that "the first 10 seconds in the video should be cut off - this is a warm-up and not a" click "". But I already left everything as it is, so that people understand that imitation of the voice of birds is not so easy as it might seem at first glance.
As an explanation to this video clip, I can reveal a little secret of professional beckoners. Usually, all white-fronted beckoners in accordance with American guidelines use the combination "woo-woo-woo" (Red Bon - Nathan) ,
but the Chief Game Officer of the National Fund of St.Tryphon, Alexei Manannikov, experimentally established that the combination "lu-luke" is more consistent with the voice of the white-fronted. Myers teaches le-luc". And here Alexey told me quite rightly that much depends on the pronunciation characteristic of a given language (Louisiana Myers, for example, is a former French province and" pronons "here is linguistic conditioning, so Alexey" lulls ", and Myers" fills "). So how to "decipher" the sounds of Nature is a matter of more Skill than tradition.
If someone thinks that he bought a decoy, learned the mallard quack and the standard cackle of a white-fronted carp - and that's all ... Manila! ... I dare to disappoint you. Just for example, I put below short descriptions species with demonstrations of real voice recording, and after that, I hope, even for all professional manufacturers of decoys and "specialists" - a little "tiles will come off the roof": "Well, where are your decoys and mana after that?" that's it, which is very deep ...
We read and listen. And at the same time we compare the "description of sounds" with their real sound. Just don't think that I took it and put it all out at once. Descriptions are shortened, views are shortened. This is just a short note, not a monograph. The descriptions of the species are taken from the Keys to Birds and Bird Nests in Central Russia (Bogolyubov A.S., Zhdanova O.V., Kravchenko M.V. Moscow, Ecosystem, 2006).
Andrey Shalygin
Gray Goose - Anser anser
Appearance.A large bird (body length about 80 cm, that is, slightly smaller than a domestic goose), grayish-brown in color, with a dirty white chest and abdomen, on which dark spots are scattered. From someone like him goose-goose it is distinguished by an ash-gray coloration of the lower back (loin) and a dark pink, almost red beak with a light marigold at the end. Legs are pink. On the belly of adult birds there are black spots (poorly visible in flight). The front part of the wing appears light in flight.
During the flight, it gathers in large flocks. The flock flies in single file or wedge. Very careful.
You can listen to the voice of the gray goose by clicking on this button:
The voice is like that of a domestic goose, the well-known gaggle of “ha-ha-ha”. Although, seriously, no "ha-ha-ha" can be traced there. Folk folklore transcribes this in different ways, for example in the southeastern regions of Russia and Ukraine as "tag-tag-tag".
Habitat.
Prefers large calm overgrown lakes, open land. In non-nesting time, it feeds on fields and meadows.
Spread.
Distributed in the inland water bodies of Eurasia from Western Europe, where it nests in the north to Norway, to Primorye in the subzone of mixed forests and steppes.
Economic value.
The history of the domestic goose is from the gray goose. Geese were kept in Egypt as early as 2000 BC. In the past it was one of the main game birds in Russia. In recent years, it has become more rare, especially in the European part.
Description of Buturlin
... The wild gray goose is the ancestor of the domestic goose - large the bird is grayish-brown in color, with off-white chest and abdomen, on which dark spots are scattered. From someone like him goose-goose it is distinguished by an ash-gray coloration of the lower back (loin) and a dark pink, almost red beak with a light marigold at the end. Legs are pink. The dimensions of the gray goose's wing reach 49 centimeters, the tail - 16 centimeters, the beak - from 4.7 to 7.5 centimeters, and the weight from 2.6 to 4 kilograms. There are rare specimens - up to 6.6 kilograms.
This goose is wide distributed from Western Europe, through the entire USSR, to the lower reaches of the Amur. It nests in Karelia, in the Northern Dvina delta, in some places in the Volga region and beyond the Urals it reaches 59 ° north latitude, and in the Ob - to the Arctic Circle. Occurs on the Yenisei up to 55 ° north latitude, as well as in Altai, in the Baikal region, Dauria and Mongolia.
The nesting area of \u200b\u200bthe gray goose extends quite far to the south, reaching the northern shores of the Black and southern shores of the Caspian Seas. In Transcaucasia, we had to meet nesting geese in Armenia, on Lake Gokcha. In Central Asia, it is an ordinary bird, nesting in swamps and shallow lakes near Merv and in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. This goose is also found in Iran and Afghanistan; in southern Europe, breeds in Spain.
Gray goose before nested in large numbers on all remote lakes suitable for him, surrounded by swamps and reeds. But the changes that have occurred in connection with human activities, that is, the drainage of swamps and the burning of reeds, have led to a strong reduction in the habitats of this large and cautious bird. In the central regions of our Union, for example, in Moscow and Tula, geese no longer regularly nest. However, the organization of hunting farms with the proper organization of hunting and game protection in them led to the fact that individual boxes of gray geese now began to stop at a nesting site near Moscow. The gray goose is especially numerous on the lakes of the Trans-Urals, in the Barabinsk steppe and in northern Kazakhstan.
Bean Goose - Anser fabalis
Appearance. Looks like gray goose, but the head and neck are dark, which is well noticeable in a flying bird, the back and upper tail are dark brown, the beak is black with an orange transverse stripe, the paws are orange-pink. Tundra bean beaks usually differ from taiga beaks with a lighter beak (an orange stripe along the edge of the beak extends to the corners of the mouth).
Habitat.
Lakes, swamps, river valleys with shrubby vegetation. On migration occurs along the banks of water bodies, in the fields and in the steppe .
For rest, he uses permanent places, where he returns after feeding in the fields (usually in large flocks).
Spread
... Distributed throughout the tundra and forest-tundra zone of Eurasia. In Central Siberia and Far East the area extends south to Mongloia and China.
Economic value.
One of the main hunting species, especially in the North. On the shores of the Barents Sea, a subspecies can be found short-billed bean — A. fabalis brachyrhynchos (formerly considered a separate species), breeding in Iceland and Svalbard. It differs from the goose, young white-fronted goose and white-fronted goose in lighter coloration and pink legs, from the gray goose - in its dark head and neck, short beak with a black top. The voice is like that of the bean, but higher
Description of Buturlin ... Little bean less gray goose, from which it differs in a black beak, with a yellow or orange band. The body color is grayish-brown. The bean goose never has black spots on the belly, like a white-fronted goose. Wing dimensions 40-49 centimeters, weight from 2.75 to 4 kilograms. Bean bean is common in the northern regions of Eastern Europe and Asia, where it reaches the Chukchi, Anadyr and Kamchatka lands. It nests in the tundra of the mainland and on Novaya Zemlya; in Eastern Siberia, it is also found on mountain lakes in the forest belt. To the south, this goose reaches the Barabinskaya steppe, Altai, Sayan and Mongolia. All our bean bean dogs belong to the same species and are divided into four subspecies, of which one - the short-nosed bean - is found here only by chance; it breeds in the northern regions of Western Europe.
Genus River ducks - Anas
In Russia it includes 12 species: mallard, black mallard, gray duck, witch, pintail, killer whale, teal-kloktun, teal-whistle, teal-cracker, marble teal, shirokonoska. Interspecific hybrids are rare.
Mallard, or mallard duck, or kryzhen(outdated) - Anas platyrhynchos
Appearance. The most numerous duck in Russia. Large, slightly smaller than a domestic duck, up to 0.5 m in size. A male in breeding plumage has a head and neck with a green tint, a brown chest, a yellow-green beak (greenish at the end of summer), orange paws, a purple mirror. There is a white collar on the bottom of the neck. The central tail feathers are curled upward in rings. The female is reddish-brown with a lighter belly, the speculum is blue, the beak is pinkish with a dark middle. The silhouette of a river duck in flight resembles a wine bottle.
You can listen to the voice of the mallard by clicking on this button:
The voice is like a domestic duck of which it is an ancestor. In flight, it emits a characteristic resonant quack. To the crackling "rab-rab" during the mating period, the whistling "fieb" also adds.
Habitat.
Mallard is the most flexible type of ducks, it is able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats. Lives in quiet bodies of water with abundant vegetation, especially with thickets of reeds, even in large cities.
Spread.
The mallard is very widespread - the range goes through all of Europe, North Africa and Asia, south to Mesopotamia, Kashmir, Mongolia and Japan. It is found in North America... Our northern border coincides approximately with the border between the forest belt and the tundra. Mallard is the most common duck in the Northern Hemisphere.
Economic value.
One of the main hunting objects. The domestic duck comes from the mallard.
Description of Buturlin
... Mallard, or mallard duck, is, if not the most numerous, then perhaps the most famous of all the ducks of our lakes and river valleys. She concedes in height and weight domestic duck, which descended from it, however, can still reach a weight of 2 kilograms (the largest and fattest individuals), with a wing length of 30 centimeters. Most often, the weight of adults does not exceed 1.5 kilograms.
Drake the nuptial feather is very handsome, and his attire at this time precisely sparkles with the colors of various metals. His black head gleams with blue and green purple; this color is delimited from below by a narrow white collar. On the dorsal side, the plumage is brown and gray, with wavy white lines and small dashes; goiter and chest are brown; the abdomen is light gray, with darker striated markings; the undertail is black, with a metallic sheen; the middle tail feathers are black and curled with rings. On the light gray wing, a shiny blue mirror (the shiny coloration of the secondary flight feathers) stands out brightly, framed by velvet black and white borders.
Have females the top is dark brown, with buffy-red edges of feathers; the underside is lighter, reddish, with dark spots. There is also a mirror on the wing. The plumage of the female is of a protective type.
Drake is already in September dressed in a mating outfit, which he wears all winter and spring, until the beginning of the summer molt. In the summer months, the color of its plumage is similar to that of the female, only slightly darker (especially the top of the head); its beak is lighter than that of the female, greenish; legs are brighter orange. Young drakes (output last summer) put on the wedding dress later than the old ones. And in old individuals, for various reasons, the autumn molt may be delayed or not fully developed. And in late autumn, sometimes drakes are found, the plumage of which differs little from the plumage of females. It is remarkable that in a species close to the mallard duck, in the so-called Chinese black mallard, both sexes are colored almost the same throughout the year, similar to our mallard female. This duck is found here in the Amur region and the Ussuri region.
Sviyaz, or fistula, whistler, swig (outdated) - Anas penelope
Appearance. Noticeably smaller mallard... The male is light gray with a small streaky pattern, the head is brown with a yellow top, the belly is white, the speculum is green. The female is distinguished by a brown head and chest, a purple mirror. The beak and paws are gray. In flight, white spots on the wings are noticeable (light gray in the female).
You can listen to the wiggle's voice by clicking on this button:
The voice of the drake is a sharp whistling "svii-y", of the females - a crackling quack "kerr". The cry of a drake is most often heard in flight - it is a soft two-syllable whistle.
Habitat.
Common on overgrown rivers and lakes from the tundra to the steppe zone.
Spread.
It is found throughout the north of Western Europe, throughout the Volga basin to the delta, in Siberia to the southern steppes, in Mongolia and the Ussuri region. It enters the north further than other ducks, reaching the forest-tundra. During migration, large flocks of wiggles appear in the Baltic and North Seas.
Economic value.
An important hunting object. The witch can easily endure captivity, adapts to life at home and is easily tamed. Its meat is excellent, the fluff is considered one of the best.
Description of Buturlin.
For her voice, a witch is called a whistle by hunters, or a whistler, in some places also a sviyag. The drake in the mating attire has a chestnut coloration head and neck, with reddish-white crown. The goiter is reddish in color, the chest and abdomen are white. Other parts of the body are covered with gray plumage with white streakiness. The mirror is shiny green, with a black border. There is a wide white spot in front of the wing mirror. The summer dress of the male retains significant differences from that of the female. In summer, the back of the drake is brown, with chestnut stripes; the head and neck are brownish. The mirror of the wedding dress also remains. The duck has a gray-brown plumage with dark spots, a white abdomen and a black-gray mirror without a white spot in front. The legs and beak are gray in both sexes.
Judging by some observations, the male stays close to the female in the spring even when she sits on the nest, and leaves her only in the second half of the nesting period. In the river basins of the European part of Russia, the witch is found in much smaller numbers than the mallard and teal species.
Sviyaz can already be quite great distance distinguish from other river ducks by rather bright red colors of plumage and by white colors of the mirror and abdomen. When flying in flocks and swimming on the water or sitting on the shore, these ducks like to keep close, knocked down in a bunch. Their flight is quick and easy, and the working wings do not make a lot of noise. Just as teals do, the wiggles often seem to turn or sway in flight, showing now a side, now a shiny abdomen or under the wing.
In flying high-flying flocks of wiggles, birds usually emit clear whistling screams... These screams make it possible to establish that wiggles in spring and autumn, during flights, fly over our river valleys sometimes at night.
This type of taxonomy is usually distinguished into a separate subgenus for a short beak, which is shorter than the metatarsus in a witch. Although the size of the body of the wigeon does not exceed the size of the body of the gray duck, its wing is somewhat larger.
Pintail, or pintail,or sharptail, or shilen (outdated) - Anas acuta
Appearance.A little smaller mallard... The neck is long and thin, the tail is sharp, subulate, the beak and legs are dark gray. The male has a dark brown head, a green mirror with a bronze tint, in flight the white belly and chest are striking, the neck is noticeably pubescent. The female is brownish-gray with a mirror without shine.
Habitat.
He prefers to settle in small reservoirs of river valleys and large lakes.
Spread.
Pintail nests throughout Europe and in Asia south to Transcaucasia and Primorye. It can be found in the clean tundra, much to the north of the last islands of the crooked forest.
Economic value.
An important hunting object, especially in the North and Western Siberia, where pintail is most numerous.
Description of Buturlin.
Pintail, or pintail, whose name comes from the structure of the tail feathers of the drake, is distributed further north than other river ducks.
Not inferior in size to the gray duck, pintail is different from other river ducks with a noticeably long neck and a pointed tail, the middle feathers of which are also elongated in the female, while in the male in the nuptial feather they can reach 20 centimeters. The drake's mating outfit has almost no metallic color. In this plumage, the male has a brown head and the same neck with white stripes. The bronze-green mirror is bordered by a reddish-brown stripe in front, and black and white at the back. In summer, the drake has a slightly darker brown plumage than the duck, which is similar in color to the mallard and has a yellowish brown mirror. The drake is left with a shiny mirror of the marriage dress. The legs and beak of birds of both sexes are bluish-gray.
Nest she usually places it on a dry place, often under a bush or under an overgrown sedge mound. In Kazakhstan, nests of pintails were found even 4-6 kilometers from the nearest lakes. In the middle lane, a full clutch of eggs is already in the second half of May - early June. The number of greenish eggs is usually 7-10.
Flight The pintail is light; it makes almost no noise with its wings. Game connoisseurs consider its meat more tasty than the meat of the mallard and other large ducks.
The long neck makes the landing of this duck on the water somewhat peculiar and distinguishes it from other river ducks in flight. During flight flocks of pintails usually fly at high altitudes and sometimes hold themselves not in a shapeless heap, but in a wedge formation, although not as regular as the “key” of geese or cranes. In late autumn, at the places of stops of migratory ducks in the southern seas, the pintail sometimes has to be seen in pairs. The mating cry of the male, rather high in tone, differs markedly from the cry of the mallard drake.
During span Pintails often gather in large flocks. Such flocks are not uncommon on the western flyways - off the shores of the Baltic and German seas. Some of the birds fly to wintering grounds in tropical Africa. The mating season and nesting of the pintail proceed in almost the same way as in mallard.
Teal Whistle,or small teal,or teal genital(outdated) - Anas crecca
Appearance. The smallest of our ducks: 35 cm in length. The head of the drake is chestnut with a shiny dark green stripe across the eye, the chest is pinkish with dark spots, the mirror is bright green with black. The female is brown with reddish streaks, the mirror is bright green. The beak is dark gray, the paws are olive. The flight is fast, quiet and very skillful (can abruptly reverse flight direction). It can take off from water and land almost vertically upwards.
Habitat.
Prefers reservoirs with dense thickets of reeds, also occurs in the mountains.
Spread.
The most abundant in the forest and forest-steppe zones of Russia, less often found in the forest-tundra and tundra.
Economic value.
One of the main hunting objects.
Description of Buturlin. Teal genital and teal stump - the most small from our river ducks. In the European part of the USSR, they are perhaps the most common, since they are unpretentious when choosing nesting sites and getting food. The teal sexual, - the wing length of which does not exceed 20 centimeters, and the weight is 0.42 kilograms, is distributed for nesting from the northernmost parts of the mainland (71 ° north latitude on the Yenisei and 73 ° on Taimyr), through all of Europe and Asia, to Turkmenistan, Mongolia and North China. For its small stature, it is also called a small teal, sometimes a whistle. It is easily mixed (when in a summer feather) with crackling. But he's good is different a two-color mirror, which is black outward, metallic green inward, and bordered in front with a white stripe. In the nuptial duck, the head and upper part of the neck are reddish-brown, a shiny dark green stripe on each side covers the eye and descends to the neck and nape.
Teal cracker,or teal craketo, or gray-winged teal(outdated) - Anas querqnedula
Appearance. Slightly larger teal whistle, length about 40 cm. The head of the drake is brown with a white stripe above the eye, the back and chest are brown, the belly is white, the speculum is green. The female is light brown with streaks; the mirror is matt, green without shine. The wings are bluish-gray, the beak is black, the legs are gray. The flight is fast and quiet.
The voice of the teal-cracker can be heard by pressing this button:
The drake has a quiet creaky crack, the female has a rattling quack. Emits at takeoff abrupt "clerrb, clerrb", shrill "knack" or "knerr".
Habitat.
It prefers small rivers, small and shallow reservoirs of river valleys left over from hollow water, ponds near villages and especially likes to settle on small reservoirs in forests.
Spread.
The most common river duck in the fauna of the European part of Russia. Rare in the north. In Western Europe, the area of \u200b\u200bits nesting in the north is limited to 60 ° north latitude, in our country - the basin of the Upper Volga. South of these borders, it is not uncommon everywhere to the Mediterranean Sea and our southern seas, Central Asia and Primorsky Territory.
Economic value.
Teal cracker easily tolerates captivity and reproduces well in zoological gardens.
Description of Buturlin. Teal-stalk, otherwise a cracker, or a gray-winged teal, larger (wing length up to 21 centimeters, weight of a fat drake up to 0.6 kilograms) teal whistle... Drake of this species painted more modest. There are no shiny colors on the head: the top of the head is dark brown, the sides of the head and the neck are chocolate-colored, with white lines; there is a white stripe above the eyebrow; the upper part of the body is dark brown, with light edging of feathers. The shoulder feathers are striped and noticeably elongated. The mirror has a shiny steel-blue color and is bordered with white stripes. The female, painted in dark brown colors, has a mirror bordered with whitish stripes, brownish-gray, without shine. Even in the summer feather, the drake retains a shiny mirror and a lighter bluish-gray coloration of the wing coverts than that of the female.
Wide-nose, or pokemon, or loponos (outdated) - Anas clypeata
Appearance. The broad-mouthed ducks are easily distinguished from other ducks by their very long and disproportionately wide beak. The head and neck of the drake are black, the chest is white, the belly and sides are red, and the beak is black. The female is brown with streaks, the beak is brown. The mirror is green, the paws are orange. In flight, black wingtips and bluish coverts of secondary flight feathers are visible. A short neck is noticeable on the water, in flight - a red spot on the belly. They fly relatively slowly.
Habitat.
Strongly overgrown lakes and rivers are everywhere from the southern tundra to the steppe and forest-steppe. On the lakes and wetlands of the middle zone, this duck is not numerous, although it is occasionally found almost everywhere where mallards and teals nest. But in the lower reaches of the Volga, and especially on the steppe lakes of Kazakhstan and Western Siberia, the broad-bearer is the most common of the ducks.
Spread.
Distributed in Europe, North Africa, Asia and North America. In Western Europe, it is found in the north up to Norway; here to the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina, Pechora and Ob, to the south to Transcaucasia, Turkmenistan and the Ussuri basin.
Economic value.
An important hunting object, especially in the south of Russia.
Description of Buturlin.
Shirokoska also stands out in a subgenus and differs from other river ducks in a long beak, strongly widened at the end. In downy chicks, such an increase in beak is less noticeable. The beautiful mating outfit of the drake is distinguished by the strong development of bright and metallic-shiny colors. Its neck and head are black with a dark green sheen, the goiter is white, the underparts are chestnut. The mirror is metallic green, bordered with white stripes above and below. Wing coverts blue; eyes are yellow, paws are orange. The female is similar in plumage color to a mallard, but has a dull mirror bordered with white stripes. The upper valve of the beak is brown, the lower one is orange. A drake in a summer feather looks like a duck, but its mirror remains bright. The female's legs are also orange. The total length of the bird is about 50 centimeters, the length of the wing is 24 centimeters.
The duck quacks; the voice of the drake is a quiet and hoarse "hut ...".
Before molting, males flock into flocks, several hundred pieces. Such flocks of beautiful drakes, settled on a clean lake, are a wonderful sight. Shirokoski and in the wild, hatching and feeding during the flight at feeding places, usually do not eat up a lot of fat. During the day they can often be seen resting, and they seem to feed more at dusk and at night.
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