Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis)

Other Names (World)
Spur-winged Goose, Spur winged Duck

Family
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, Swans)

Size
70 - 100 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1766)

Habitat
Seasonal and permanent wetlands near grasslands or arable land. When moulting areas with open shorelines, islands and sandbars, generally avoiding saline lakes and upland areas.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia (B), Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to Egypt, Morocco.

Population
Estimated population is 300,000 - 500,000 (2010).

Status LC
Hunting and trade are the main threats.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Predominantly plant matter such as seeds of grasses, sedges and aquatic plants, agricultural grain, fruit and tuberous crops. Also, occasionally small fish or insects.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (15)...)

Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus) [XC442483]
by Bram Piot from Bathurst, South Africa (flight call)

Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) [XC339356]
by Peter Boesman from Kasanka National Park, Northern Province, Zambia (call)

Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

gambensis (Linnaeus, 1766) - Gambia to Ethiopia, south to Angola and Zambezi R.
niger Sclater, PL, 1877 - Southern Africa, from Namibia and Zimbabwe to Cape Province.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Spur-winged Goose see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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