Meet the latest pond additions, a pair of Egyptian geese. A wonderful lady was looking for a good home for them as she was having raccoon predation problems and I was the lucky recipient! :)
They are pretty shy, and don't allow me to get very close. I'm hoping that changes as they get used to me, either that or I'm going to have to get a better zoom lens.
A little bit about Egyptian geese, 'Alopochen aegytiacus', it is the only existing member of the genus Alopochen. They are not endangered, however. It breeds in most countries of Africa, except where there are deserts and dense forests. The areas you are most likely to see the geese in the wild are the Nile Valley and the area south of the Sahara.
The Egyptian goose is actually a member of the shelduck subfamily called Tadorninae, and was considered sacred by ancient Egyptians and appeared in much of their artwork.
It's not a vocal bird, though males do emit a raspy hiss and females produce a cackling honk when stressed or demonstrating aggressive behavior. They are monogamous and mate for life.
They nest in a number of places but especially like holes in mature trees.
Egyptian geese have been known to live as long as 14 years.
Suggestions for names? :)
14 comments:
oooo, they ARE beautiful! i've got the obvious choices: nefertiti and akhenaten or isis and osiris.
Very pretty. We just lost a Canada goose to raccoons (we think). Very sad. Stay safe over there, babies!
My Vote:
Osiris and Isis!
or Cleopatra and Caesar!
They are such beautiful geese, especially their Egyptian eye 'paint' :)
~Lisa
Those are wonderful geese, so very interesting as I have never seen them before. I enjoyed your Egyptian artwork also. Enjoyed your post very much, thank you.
They are really different looking! I wouldn't have known if they were geese, ducks, or what....
I was thinking Cleo and Marc.....
:-)
Love the Egyptian art with them.
What pretty creatures. I had never seen anything like them. I hope they stay safe and live a long life--maybe produce some more of their species for you.
Tammy
They really are pretty!
Not familiar with Egyptian geese, certainly rare around here. I wish I had a spring-fed pond, hope to get one going on our 30 acres.
A great addition to your pond! They are beautiful.
I've never seen or heard of such a fowl; they're beautiful! I like Cleo(patra) and Marc (Anthony).
I've never seen or heard of such a fowl; they're beautiful! I like Cleo(patra) and Marc (Anthony).
I would say Rosie and Niles. They are really adorable.
So lovely, I'd never heard of them or seen them before. Ramses is another idea.
Those are really beautiful! As for names, there are so many to choose from, Amon / Ra / Amon-Ra / Horus etc. When I wanted some names for the neighbour's cat family (Nefertiti's mother and new siblings), I just googled Nefertiti and read up on her story. Stumbled over her step-mother Tey which then became Teya, which is easier to pronounce in Swedish. What are their personalities like?
Post a Comment