Kelp goose
| Kelp goose | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Subfamily: | Tadorninae |
| Genus: | Chloephaga |
| Species: | C. hybrida |
| Binomial name | |
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Chloephaga hybrida (Molina, 1782) |
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| Subspecies | |
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The kelp goose (Spanish: Caranca or Cauquén Marino), Chloephaga hybrida, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. It can be found in the Southern part of South America - mainly in Patagonian Chile, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands.
Kelp geese inhabit Chile's southern half to the eastern tip of Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. They habitat rocky coasts around their food sources.
Males are a white color, with a black beak, and yellow feet. The females are dark brown, with transverse gray lines on the chest, and yellow feet.
Kelp geese generally have clutches of 2-7 eggs. They prefer to hide their eggs in long grass. The eggs hatch about a month later.
There are about 15,000 breeding pairs in existence.
Kelp geese are noted for only eating kelp and will migrate along the coast of South America in order to find kelp, hence the name 'kelp geese'.
In the Falkland Islands and Argentina there are kelp geese stamps.
Female on East Falkland
A pair on East Falkland
Two females, one male, and two juveniles on Chiloé, Chile.
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Wikipedia