The Black Necked Swan

Native to South America, Cygnus melancoryphus, the Black-necked Swan is a close relation to the Black Swan of Australasia and the Mute Swan found in the northern hemisphere. One of the smaller members of the swan family, the Black-necked Swan is nevertheless the largest of the waterfowl to be found in South America.

Like most of its genus relatives, the Black-necked Swan is normally to be found in a wetland habitat, especially lake shorelines, lagoons and freshwater marshes. During the breeding season the Black-necked Swans are particularly abundant on the Falkland Islands, and across Patagonia (the southernmost points of Chile and Argentina). Numbers of the swan are estimated to be anywhere between 26000 and 100000, although like many other swans they are susceptible to pollution in their natural environment. Relative common, the Black-necked Swan is not under any particular threat, and has a couple of nature reserves in Chile and Argentina were it is protected.

The Black Necked Swan - Patche99z - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The Black-necked Swans are migratory although this means flying north to Paraguay and the southern regions of Brazil, during the southern hemisphere’s winter. When the swans flock together there is not the same amount of noise associated with other birds, as the Black-necked Swans are similar to the Mute Swans in that they are almost silent letting out a small whistle.

The breeding and wintering grounds both offer the types of environments where the Black-necked Swans can feed on their favoured food, namely algae, other plants, fish spawn and insects.
With sufficient food male swans can grow up to 140cm in length, with a wingspan of about 180cm. This means adult males can weigh in between 4.5kg and 6.7kg. Females are slightly smaller, and weigh a kilogram or more less than the male.

Black-necked Swan - Tony Hisgett - CC-BY-2.0

Like other members of the swan family, Black-necked swans are predominantly white, although as the name suggests the neck of the bird is black. Both male and female have greyish bills, with a red knob located just above the beak. The red knob on the male becomes larger during the mating and breeding season. Black-necked Swans will mate for life.

During the breeding season the female Black-necked Swan will lay between four and six eggs, and incubate them alone. When born the cygnets are a light grey in colour, but unlike many birds the parents will both do their turn in raising the youngster, indeed the cygnets will ride on both of the adult’s backs.

The Black-necked Swan is as beautiful and as graceful as the others in the species, and although not currently under threat will need work to ensure that it is preserved for future generations.

The Shetland Goose

Like the majority of European and North American domestic geese, the Shetland goose is thought to have descended from the Greylag. As the name suggests, the Shetland Goose was domesticated upon the Shetland Isles off of Scotland and quickly became a mainstay of the islands bird’s population.

The Shetland Goose is not a particularly heavy goose, with the gander weighing at its peak between 5.4kg and 6.4kg, the goose weighs a kilogram or so less. The most distinctive feature of the Shetland Goose though is its colouring. The gander of the species is always white, with the goose always grey and white. The head and upper neck of the goose is white, with grey more prominent around the lower neck, under-wing back and thigh areas. This colourisation also makes it very easy to sex any hatchlings, and this can be done within a couple of days

The gander will also have blue eyes. The goose will have brown eyes normally, although brown and blue mottled is not unheard of. Shetland geese will have reddish bills at the tip, with a more orange hue closer to the face, the geese will also have pink coloured feet and legs.

The colourisation of the Shetland Goose does lead to it sometimes being confused with the Pilgrim breed of goose, although the bill of the Shetland is smaller and of a different colour.

The addition of Shetland geese to a farm or smallholding has many advantages. The obvious ones of include the decent size of the bird when stocked as an eating bird, with the bird regarded to have a flavour reminiscent of game, additionally a Shetland goose is likely to provide up to 25 eggs. The Shetland though is also a great forager and will happily graze with no need to provide any extra food. It is also a good idea to mix the Shetland in with other animals, including livestock, as the Shetland Goose will help to control parasitic levels.

The Shetland Goose is now to be found in many areas of the world, although the British Isles remains the focus for the majority of the population. The Shetland Goose though has the ability to travel, as its strong wings allow for sustained flight, unlike many other domestic breeds of geese, including the Sebastopol Goose.

The Shetland Goose makes a good addition to any grouping of wildfowl and livestock, and although they are unlikely to become family pets, will help in many other aspects.

Copyright - First Published 5th March 2010

The Pilgrim Goose

The Pilgrim Goose remains one of the more popular breeds of domestic duck, although there is some slight concern about overall numbers. It is a breed particularly favoured by smaller farms and domestic keepers of geese.

The standardisation of the Pilgrim goose is accredited to Oscar Grow a waterfowl breeder from Missouri. The breed itself is more likely to have originally come from Europe, and in particular it is said to have been a common British bird during the nineteenth century and earlier.

Pilgrim Geese - Redleg - Released into PD

The standardisation has lead to distinct colourisation characteristics, and the Pilgrim Geese breed is one of the few that can be identified sex wise by its colours. Ganders are mainly white, although some light grey can often be found on secondary feathers as well as around the rump area. Ganders also have blue eyes. Pilgrim geese, the female of the breed, are light grey in colour with some white around the head area. The female also have brown eyes.

When newly hatched the Pilgrim Goose can quickly be sexed, with males a light yellow with light beaks, and the female hatchlings a grey-olive colour with dark beaks.

The Pilgrim is regarded as a medium to small size goose, and a gander will normally weigh in the region of 6.4kg, with the mature female Pilgrim goose a kilogram lighter. The size does make it a good table bird.

Both the ganders and the goose of the Pilgrim breed will have orange feet and shanks and also an orange bill. The bill of the Pilgrim Goose should also be knobless, and the presence of a knob is a sure sign of crossbreeding.

There are a number of reasons as to why people like to have the Pilgrim goose on their property. The female is normally a decent layer, and in two clutches will normally lay about 30 eggs. The Pilgrim has also got a very docile temperament, and when raised from hatchlings will have a sweet nature that allows them to be more of a pet than anything else. The Pilgrim is also relatively hardy and will gain the majority of the food intake needs from foraging and grazing.

The Pilgrim Goose is recognised as being one of the quieter members of the species, although they can still be an effective guardian of property, as they can be very possessive. A good flock of Pilgrim geese can be a great addition to any holding.

Copyright - Originally Posted 5th March 2010