Egyptian Goose in England

[turlough]

I was in England last week and one day when I took a walk by the River Yare in Norwich I spotted a bird I didn't recognise among the usual greylags and mallards. A bit of internet research showed it was an Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca). The breed was apparently introduced to Britain back in 17th century and is now mostly found in East Anglia and along the Thames.

Click to enlarge:

Comments

[shirebound]

What a handsome fellow. The coloring around the eyes is striking.

[turlough]

Yes, because of the striking colouring I thought at first it was a domestic breed!

[cmcmck]

I fear you'll have experienced the awful Summer we've been having!

[turlough]

Most of my week was spent in the Yorkshire Dales so our weather was quite nice. Norwich on the other hand was far too hot and humid!

[yourlibrarian]

I've never seen one before!

[turlough]

I thought it must be some kind of domestic breed at first!

[iddewes]

Loads of them here in Germany too.

[turlough]

I didn't know that! I guess our Swedish winters are a bit too sever for them.

[iddewes]

I do also live in a pretty warm area of Germany, maybe there aren’t so many of them in the east where it’s colder. But I see them all the time here 😊

[chestnut_pod]

They have such striking eyes!

[turlough]

It's a very eyecatching bird!

[pameladean]

What great markings! And such an attitude. Well, of course, that's a goose. I am unlikely ever to see one, so I'm very glad of this sighting.

P.

P.S. Having made that statement, I looked up the goose, and found that it is popular with zoos and aviaries,;nd as a result, escapees have established wild populations in Florida, Texas, and California. So my odds are better than I thought, but it is not a cold-weather goose, certainly.

[turlough]

It's definitely a bird with an attitude ;-D

I didn't know that. Interesting.

[adafrog]

Cool.

[turlough]

Such an unusual sight!

[scintilla10]

How very striking!

[turlough]

It definitely cought my eye!