Upland goose

The upland goose or Magellan goose (Chloephaga picta) is a sheldgoose of the family Anatidae, the group that holds the ducks, geese and swans. Sheldgeese look and behave much like true geese but are more closely related to shelducks and ducks. Gmelin described it in 1789, and the genus name Chloephaga means grass-eating. Males and females differ strongly: males have white heads and breasts and black legs, while females are reddish-brown with yellow-orange legs. Two subspecies are recognised, the smaller mainland form from central Chile and south-central Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego and a larger form native to the Falkland Islands. Birds live in small scattered groups on pasture, temperate grassland and arid lowland scrub, favouring short green grass, and nest near water on or near the ground. They are herbivores that eat leaves, stems and seeds. In the twentieth century Argentina treated the Patagonian sheldgeese as agricultural pests and encouraged hunting, and mainland numbers declined, leading to a hunting ban in 2008, while the island populations appear stable.