Alopochen aegyptiaca
Silhouette: LordToran · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) is an African member of the Anatidae family including ducks, geese, and swans. Because of its popularity chiefly as an ornamental bird, the species has also been introduced to Europe, the United States, and elsewhere outside its natural range. Egyptian geese were regularly represented in ancient Egyptian art.
The Egyptian goose was formally described in 1766 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas aegyptiaca. Linnaeus partly based his account on the L'oye d'Egypte that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in his Ornithologie. Brisson used the Latin name Anser Egyptiatiacus, and although he coined Latin names for species, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The Egyptian goose is now placed with the extinct Mauritius sheldgoose and the extinct Reunion sheldgoose in the genus Alopochen that was introduced in 1885 by Norwegian-born zoologist Leonhard Stejneger. The species is monotypic; no subspecies are recognised. The... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 3 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 4 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 5 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Cologne | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report an Egyptian Goose sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 2,615 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to September
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Egyptian Goose in Cape Town on a given day, against about 50% in February and March, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Egyptian 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.
Yes
Of the 47 cities where we can rate Egyptian Goose sightings, Cape Town has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Amsterdam (Netherlands, about 60%) and Brussels (Belgium, about 60%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Egyptian Goose that you can see in Cape Town (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Yellow-billed Duck (about 40%), Cape Shoveler (about 20%) and Spur-winged Goose (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Egyptian Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (2,615 verified sightings), 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.
