Species Fact Profile: Orinoco Goose (Neochen jubata)

                                                               Orinoco Goose

                                                       Neochen jubata (Spix, 1825)

Range: Orinoco and Amazon River Basins in South America, from Colombia and Venezuela south to eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, and northern Argentina

Habitat:  Riverine Forest, Wet Savannahs, Freshwater Wetlands (prefer waterways with sandy beach access).  Prefer still water, such as lakes

Diet: Aquatic and terrestrial grasses, supplemented by some terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates (mollusks, insects)

Social Grouping: Territorial pairs during breeding season, more social outside breeding 

Reproduction: Monogamous, long-lasting pairs.  Nest in a tree cavity lined with down.  Female lays 6-15 pale brown-cream eggs, incubated for 30 days.  Male guards the nest while the female incubates

Lifespan: 20 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Near Threatened

• Body length 60-75 centimeters.  Males are slightly heavier than females, weighing an average of 1.5 kilograms to 1.2 kilograms for females
• Sexes look alike.  Head, neck, and breast are pale gray-buff, some darker mottling and striations along the back and sides of the neck.  Flack and belly are chestnut; back, rump, and tail are a greenish-black.  Wings are purple-to-greenish-black with a white patch at the bass.  Legs are red.  Bill is black with a touch of pink.  Juveniles have duller plumage than adults
• Primarily terrestrial, but sometimes perch in trees, especially during breeding season.  Only fly or swim if heavily pressed, don’t do either very well.  Heavy flight led to association with geese
• Males display for females by standing up extremely erect and pulling back their heads, expanding their chest, and flapping their wings.  Become very territorial during the breeding season.  Males communicate a high pitched whistle, females with a loud cackle
• Largely sedentary, usually only making local movements between feeding and roosting sites, but it has been determined that some populations are migratory, with some populations traveling hundreds of miles depending on rain patterns
• Often listed as the only living member of the genus Neochen (at least three fossil species are described).  Sometimes allied with the Andean geese.  More closely related to the shelducks than to the true geese
• Decreasing population – estimate 10,000 – 25,000 mature individuals in wild.  Still occupies a wide range, but declining throughout except in strongholds.  Decline presumably driven by a combination of habitat loss for agricultural use and hunting pressure
• Occasional sightings in Florida, but these are not believed to represent a breeding population, just the occasional escapee or released bird
• Migration may result in increased disease transmission; it is believed that the geese may pick up Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum from domestic fields where the birds layover during migration; when birds are hunted and eaten in Brazil and Bolivia, the parasites are transferred to humans in their meat