Spur-winged Goose ( Plectropterus gambensis, family: Anatidae)

spur winged goose kruger national park birds The Spur-winged Goose (Latin name Plectropterus gambensis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 116 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 95 also a picture of the Spur-winged Goose on page 97. The Spur-winged Goose belongs to the family of birds classified as Anatidae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Spur-winged Goose is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Spur-winged Goose in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Spur-winged Goose : see above distribution map.

The Spur-winged Goose.

Spur Winged Goose Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Spur-winged Goose is a large bird much bigger than a Pied Crow. The height of the Spur-winged Goose is about 98 cms and its weight is about 5100 gms

You will find that the male Spur-winged Goose plumage and colours are different to that of the female Spur-winged Goose

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is pink.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are pink.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Spur-winged Goose feeds on the ground and in or around water mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Spur-winged Goose is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Plectropterus gambensis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Spur-winged Goose is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are ivory in colour and number between 7 to 14

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Spur-winged Goose are: grasslands

You will normally see the Spur-winged Goose in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ihoye

Zulu ... iHophe/iHoye

Afrikaans ...Wildemakou

German ... Sporengans

Portuguese ... Pato-ferro

French ... Oie-arme de Gambie

Dutch ... Spoorwiekgans

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 116

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za