They deserve the same freedom from cruelty that the animals we love in our homes deserve. Geese have long memories, and they use familiar landmarks and the stars to navigate during their annual journeys.ĭucks and geese can feel pain and emotions just like our dogs and cats, and just like humans. They rotate from the front to the back when they get tired, and those in the rear honk their encouragement to the leaders.
Flocks fly in a characteristic “V” formation so that the geese in front reduce the air resistance for those behind them, which helps the birds fly about 70 percent farther as a group than they could on their own. Geese are adept fliers who may travel thousands of miles during their yearly migrations. Observers have noted that healthy geese sometimes look after injured comrades and that injured birds will stick together to protect each other from predators and to help each other find food. The gaggle members rotate sentry duty, like sailors standing watch on a ship. There are usually one or two “sentries” who keep watch for predators while the others feed. Multiple families of geese come together to form a larger group called a gaggle, in which birds look out for each other. Some birds like to use the same nest each year if possible. They lay eggs once a year in the spring, and females incubate them for 30 days while their mates guard their well-concealed homes. Geese enjoy preening their feathers, foraging for food in the grass, and collecting twigs, bark, and leaves to make “home improvements” to their nests. Read more inspiring stories and learn more fascinating facts about animals like geese in the bestselling book Animalkind.
#FLOCK OF GEESE SERIES#
This enduring bond was evident in a series of photos that went viral, in which a male goose in China was seen giving his mate a “kiss” goodbye as she was being loaded onto a motorcycle to be taken to slaughter. When a goose’s mate dies, that bird will mourn in seclusion-and some geese spend the rest of their lives as widows or widowers, refusing to mate again. They’ll often refuse to leave the side of a sick or injured mate or chick, even if winter is approaching and the other geese in the group are flying south.
They mate for life and are protective of their partners and offspring. The scientists found that city ducks have more of a “shouting” quack so that other birds can hear them above the hustle and bustle, while country ducks have softer voices. Researchers at Middlesex University London in Britain reported that ducks even have regional accents, just like humans do. Like geese, they fly in formation for protection and to reduce air resistance, and they can travel at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour!ĭucks use vocalizations and body language to communicate. Skilled swimmers and fliers, they can travel hundreds of miles each year during their migrations.
#FLOCK OF GEESE FREE#
They’re meticulously clean animals who keep their nests free of waste and debris, and they enjoy preening their feathers and flaunting their beautiful plumage for potential mates. They spend their days looking for food in the grass or in shallow water, and they sleep with their paddling-mates at night.
“Once the geese had passed, the starlings reformed into a large group and they continued to display for another 15 minutes before finally dropping down into the reed bed to roost,” Billington told Caters.Ducks are outgoing, social animals who feel most at ease when they’re in large groups, which are called “paddlings” when on water. When the starlings splintered off in all directions, the admiring crowd reacted in amazement. “I am so glad that I was filming at the time and was able to capture their approach and the moment that the starling murmuration parted at the last second to let the geese pass through.” “However, this time a flock of over 200 geese flew in as the starlings were right in their flight path. “I’ve seen skeins of pink-footed geese flying in while the starling murmuration has been taking place before, but they either pass by them or arrive shortly after. “I’ve never seen a starling murmuration be split by another flock of birds before,” Billington told Caters News. The answer was recorded in video taken last month by Andrew Billington as he watched a flock of 50,000 starlings fly together over the Martin Mere nature reserve in Lancashire, England.Īs they met up with the starlings, hundreds of pink-footed geese acted like a bowling ball, scattering the starlings like bowling pins in a rarely seen aerial display:
What happens when a flock of geese meets a flock of starlings on a collision course in midair?
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