Cyanochen cyanoptera
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The blue-winged goose (Cyanochen cyanoptera) is a waterfowl species which is endemic to Ethiopia. It is the only member of the genus Cyanochen. The relations of this species among the waterfowl was long unresolved. It is morphologically close to shelducks, and particularly the South American sheldgeese, which have similar courtship displays. However, mitochondrial DNA sequence analyses of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes indicates that it might belong to a very distinct and ancient "duck" clade, together with Hartlaub's duck, another African species of uncertain affinities. The wing pattern, a good morphological indicator of evolutionary relationships in waterfowl, is similar in these two species, and different to most other waterfowl (though shared by species in the genus Spatula). More recent genetic evidence has confirmed this clade, and further points to their belonging to a larger group of diving ducks, with their closest relatives being a clade containing marbled duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris), white-winged duck (Asarcornis scutulata), and the widespread genera Netta and Aythya; with these, they are next closest to Australian wood duck... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dvůr Králové Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Centro Cicogne e Anatidi | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 4 | Zoologischer Garten Magdeburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Timișoara Zoological Garden | 🇷🇴 Romania |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Goose sighting in Bale Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 214 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 117 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month over 90% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Goose in Bale Mountains National Park on a given day, against about 80% in February, April–August and October, the lowest months. That is one of Bale Mountains National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 230 mm in April. March and September have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-winged Goose sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Bale Mountains National Park, in our data
Bale Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Blue-winged Goose sightings: about 90% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Blue-winged Goose that you can see in Bale Mountains National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Yellow-billed Duck (about 80%), Ruddy Shelduck (about 40%) and Egyptian Goose (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-winged Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Bale Mountains National Park (214 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
