Orinoco Goose
Oressochen jubatus
Small goose of seasonally flooded grasslands and rainforest rivers. Two-toned, with a brown body and cream-colored head, neck, and breast. The wings are dark iridescent green, with a small white patch visible in flight. Found along rivers and flooded grasslands, where it swims and walks along beaches, often in pairs. Rare or absent from some areas it was previously found due to hunting.
Identification
The Orinoco goose is 61 to 76 cm (24 to 30 in) long. Males weigh about 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) and females about 1.3 kg (2.9 lb). Adult males have an off-white head, neck, and breast with slight buffy streaks on the nape and buffy scalloping on the breast. Their mantle is gray with white scalloping. They have an orange band across the upper mantle and onto the sides of the breast and flanks and a crescent of dark brown behind the flanks. Their undertail coverts are white. Their wings are black with a wide white speculum. Also, their bill has a black maxilla and a mostly red mandible and their legs and feet are bright salmon red. Adult females have a similar pattern as the males but have a drab wash on their crown and nape, less orange on the flanks, and darker scalloping on the sides of the belly. Their legs and feet are more a dull orange than bright red.
Taxonomy
The Orinoco goose's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) place it alone in the genus Neochen. However, based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy place it and the Andean goose in the resurrected genus Oressochen. The IOC and HBW place the Andean goose in the genus Chloephaga.<p>Two fossil relatives have been described from Pleistocene sites in South America, Neochen pugil and N. debilis.<p>The Orinoco goose is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Oressochen jubatus
- Authority
- (Spix, 1825)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Oressochen
Range and habitat
The Orinoco goose is found from Venezuela south through Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and Bolivia into far northern Argentina and in a broad swath across central Brazil. An isolated population spans the northern Brazil–Guyana border. Though the IUCN range map includes French Guiana, Suriname, and Paraguay, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has no records in the first two countries and records only as a vagrant in Paraguay.<p>The Orinoco goose inhabits wet savanna and the edges of large freshwater wetlands in the wet season and in the dry season, it is also found on river beaches and oxbow lakes in the Amazon Basin.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Big, spectacular black-and-white hornbill. Males have a large cream-colored bill, and females a much smaller and darker one. In flight, shows a broad white patch at the back of the wing, white wingtips, and a white tail with a black band. Found in the canopy of lowland rainforest, usually in pairs or small groups. The loud calls are honking and yapping notes that are often given in a quick series. Similar to Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, but has a white tail with a black band, the wingtips are white, and the bill is paler. Could be confused with Piping Hornbill, but much larger, with much more white in the wings and tail and a paler bill.
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Macroagelaius subalaris
Scarce blackbird found only at higher elevations in the northern half of Colombia’s eastern Andes. It is quite slender and nearly all black, but has a maroon patch under the shoulder which is mostly hidden from view when the bird is perched. The dark bill and eye help to separate it from other similar species if the wing patch is not visible. Usually seen in the forest canopy and may congregate in large flocks. Song is a chaotic series of sharp, shrill notes mixed with clacking calls.
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