Goose
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Goose
Bird
Collective name: a gaggle (on the ground) · also: a skein (in flight)
A large waterbird with a long neck, short legs, and webbed feet, found near ponds and on farms.
💡 Fun Facts
- Geese fly in a "V" formation to save energy, with the leader taking the hardest job of cutting through the wind.
- They have strong memories and can remember people, places, and other geese for years.
- Geese fly in a V-formation so each bird rides the upwash of the one ahead, saving energy on long migrations — and a gosling famously imprints on the first moving thing it sees, usually its parent.
Name Story
Anser anser
means “goose, and goose again — the old Latin word for a goose, said twice”
What does its name mean?
- Anser — 'goose', the ancient Latin word for the birdLatin (akin to the old root behind English goose and German Gans)
- anser — 'goose' again — the species name repeats the genusLatin
The name *Anser anser* is just the old Latin word for a goose, written twice over — a word from the same ancient root that gives us the English 'goose' and the German 'Gans'.