Egyptian Geese
Alopochen aegyptiacus
"Lily"
As the name implies, this bird is native to Africa. The finely pencilled lines on Lily's feathers are among the most delicate markings I've ever seen on a bird. I'll try to get a good image of these markings on here in the near future. And, finally, here they are.
These geese are native to Africa, south of the Sahara, and throughout the Nile Valley. Both sexes look alike; the females are slightly smaller, but not enough for readily identifying their sex. Sexing is done easily by ear, however: only the ganders hiss, while the females make a loud cackling call. Although they swim well, Egyptian geese spend most of their time on land.
Although easy to maintain in captivity they are usually quite quarrelsome and a mated pair will often drive off all other waterfowl and break every egg they find that is not theirs. Therefore, they should not be kept in a mixed group of fowl unless in a very large enclosure. I keep only the one female. This way I get to enjoy having the visual of an Egyptian in my mixed flock, without the problems I'd have if I had a mated pair.
Egyptian Links:
The Honolulu Zoo's Egyptian Goose page
Blue Hen Farm has a White Egyptian image up
Future Visions Farms has Egyptians for sale
Egyptians at Hogle Zoo
"Lily" from the side
This is Lily's successor, "Liliana"
Photo courtesy of Stefan
An Egyptian Goose on a pond in California
Photo courtesy of John Hill
Egyptians on the water in Uganda
Photo courtesy of Noah Impekoven
A flock of Egyptians at a pond. The two on the left are males
Photo courtesy of Caleb Stroh
Egyptians in South Africa
Photos courtesy of Stefan
Two nice shots of a feral Egyptian
Photos courtesy of Mark Chenoweth
A truly wild Egyptian photographed in Capetown
Photo courtesy of Diana Marek
A young pair of White Egyptians
Photo courtesy of Kayla
Rearranging those gorgeous feathers
Photo courtesy of Julie Hendricks
Feral Egyptians
Photo courtesy of Martin K. Morgan
In flight, in Uganda
Photo courtesy of Noah Impekoven
"Lily" from the front, showing the chestnut breast spot
And here's her wings and tail
Taking care of the family
Photos courtesy of Kathryn J. Blanton
This is a pond?
Well, no, but this is!
Photo courtesy of Mark Chenoweth
Hybrids
Ruddy Shelduck X Egyptian Goose
Photos courtesy of Daniel Sörensen
Egyptian goslings
or
Direct questions and comments to Barry at FeatherSite -- questions and comments
Photo courtesy of Kathryn J. Blanton