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Species
Anser indicus (Latham, 1790)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) have a breeding range that stretches from Mongolia south through Russia and Western China to Tibet and as far west as Kyrgyzstan. Approximately 25% of the global population of bar-headed geese winter on the southern Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau. Another wintering area for a portion of the population is India and Bangladesh.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native )
- Guo-Gang, Z., L. Dong-Ping, H. Yun-Qiu, J. Hong-Xing, D. Ming, Q. Fa-Wen, L. Jun, X. Zhi, L. Feng-Shan. 2011. Migration Routes and Stop-Over Sites Determined with Satellite Tracking of Bar-Headed Geese Anser indicus Breeding at Qinghai Lake, China. Waterbirds, 34(1): 112-116. Accessed August 05, 2012 at http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1675/063.034.0115.
- Takekawa, J., S. Heath, D. Douglas, W. Perry, Javed Salim, S. Newman. 2009. Geographic variation in Bar-headed Geese Anser indicus: connectivity of wintering areas and breeding grounds across a broad front. Wildfowl, 59: 100-123. Accessed August 05, 2012 at https://www.wwt.org.uk/userfiles/files/11_Takekawa_pp100_123.pdf.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Anser_indicus/ |
Population Trend
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/22679893 |
Alpine lakes in central Asia; winters to India and Myanmar.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
Source | No source database. |
斑头雁为我国青藏高原地区较为常见的特产种。青海、西藏的许多地区都曾驯养过大批斑头雁,是一种易于驯养的雁类。由于它的形态优美,而在一般地方又极罕见,因而很早就被各地动物园饲养展出,以供观赏。
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | 冼耀华,1979, EOL China Regional Center |
Source | No source database. |
东北,陕西,西藏,云南,湖南,新疆,青海,四川
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | The Biodiversity Committee of Chinese Academy of Sciences,2011, EOL China Regional Center |
Source | No source database. |
Bar-headed geese were one of the first species to show signs of the H5N1 (Bird Flu) virus. In addition to carrying the virus the geese are also pests to the local villagers. Since they feed on the wheat, rice, and other crops around their roosting areas, they can cause damage to farm fields.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease); crop pest
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Anser_indicus/ |
Bar-headed geese have grey bodies, with orange legs and a black and white neck. This species is named for the obvious black U-shaped bars on the back of the white head. They weigh between 2 and 3 kg (4.5 and 6.5 lbs) with a wingspan between 140 and 160 cm (55 and 62 inch), and are between 68 and 78 cm (27 and 30 inch) in length. Bar-headed geese have a basal metabolic rate of 756 cubic centimeters of oxygen per hour.
Range mass: 2.0 to 3.0 kg.
Range length: 68 to 78 cm.
Range wingspan: 140 to 160 cm.
Average basal metabolic rate: 756 cm3.O2/g/hr.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
- Tammelin, H. 2012. "Bar-headed Goose" (On-line). NatureGate. Accessed August 09, 2012 at http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/tekijat/.
- Ward, S., C. Bishop, A. Woakes, P. Butler. 2002. Heart rate and the rate of oxygen consumption of flying and walking barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) and bar-headed geese (Anser indicus). The Journal of Experimental Biology, 205: 3347–3356.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Anser_indicus/ |
These geese benefit humans because of ecotourism to the wildlife areas that they use as refueling stops during their migrations. "The East Calcutta Wetlands in Western Bengal (a stop over site for migrating Bar-headed Geese) has environmental benefits worth 38.54 million dollars"(Bhattacharyya et al., 2008).
Positive Impacts: ecotourism
- Bhattacharyya, A., S. Sen, P. Roy, A. Mazumdar. 2008. A Critical Study on Status of East Kolkata Wetlands with Special Emphasis on Water Birds as Bio-Indicator. Proceedings of Taal2007: The 12th World Lake Conference, 12: 1561-1570.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Anser_indicus/ |
Bar-headed geese can be found at high elevations. They use habitats like mountain grasslands and crop fields from surrounding villages. Bar-headed geese tend to use freshwater marshes, lakes, and streams that are around elevations of 4,000 to 6,000 meters above sea level as stop-over and over-wintering sites. Some geese have even been reported to migrate at altitudes of 9,000 meters when they cross the Himalaya Mountains.
Range elevation: Sea Level to 6,000 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial ; freshwater
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; brackish water
Wetlands: marsh
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
- Middleton, B. 1992. Habitat and Food Preferences of Greylag and Barheaded Geese Wintering in the Keoladeo National Park, India. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 8 No.2: 181-193. Accessed August 05, 2012 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/2559700.
- Scott, G., S. Egginton, J. Richards, W. Milsom. 2009. Evolution of muscle phenotype for extreme high altitude flight in the bar-headed goose. Proc Biol Sci, 276(1673): 3645-3653.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Anser_indicus/ |
Systems
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/22679893 |