Alopochen aegyptiaca
Silhouette: LordToran · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Egyptian Goose sighting in Houston on a given day, based on 1,500 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 82nd most-seen of the 302 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, June and October–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Egyptian Goose in Houston on a given day, against under 5% in February, April–May and July–September, the lowest months.
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.
28th of 47
Of the 47 cities where we can rate Egyptian Goose sightings, Houston ranks 28th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cape Town (South Africa, about 60%), Amsterdam (Netherlands, about 60%) and Brussels (Belgium, about 60%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Egyptian Goose that you can see in Houston (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (about 30%), Muscovy Duck (about 10%) and Mallard (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 Houston (1,500 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.
