Swan Goose

Swan Goose

Anser cygnoides

Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Miami

In 3 days <5%

89 Verified sightings at Miami
17 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Swan Goose

The swan goose (Anser cygnoides) is a large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, Northeast China, and the Russian Far East. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China. Vagrant birds are encountered in Japan and Korea (where it used to winter in numbers when it was more common), and more rarely in Kazakhstan, Laos, coastal Siberia, Taiwan, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

While uncommon in the wild, this species has been extensively domesticated, when it is known as Chinese goose. Introduced and feral populations of its domestic breeds occur in many places outside its natural range. The wild form is also kept in collections, and escapes are not unusual amongst feral flocks of other Anser and Branta geese.

The swan goose was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas cygnoid. The original spelling of "cygnoid." (with a fullstop, suggesting an abbreviation) is widely treated as an orthographic error to be corrected to "cygnoides", but some authors regard cygnoid (without the fullstop) to be the correct original spelling which should be used, citing... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:46

Mongolia · 2025

© Ding Li Yong · XC1002016 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Recording0:11

Italy · 2023

© Filippo Ceccolini · XC777178 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:22

Mongolia · 2022

© Stanislas Wroza · XC765912 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ciudad Juárez 🇲🇽 México
~30%
2 Suzhou 🇨🇳 China
~10%
3 Beijing 🇨🇳 China
~10%
4 Cairo 🇪🇬 Egypt
~10%
5 Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
6 Istanbul 🇹🇷 Turkey
~10%
7 Pune 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Nanchang 🇨🇳 China
~10%
9 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
10 Las Vegas 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
3 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
4 Denver Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Ostrava Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
6 Walsrode World Bird Park 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
7 Abilene Zoological Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
8 Kaliningrad Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
9 Zoobotánico Jerez 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
10 Museum–aquarium of Nancy 🇫🇷 France In captivity
11 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
12 Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding 🇨🇳 China In captivity
13 The Wild Animal Sanctuary 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Whipsnade Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
15 Beijing Wildlife Park 🇨🇳 China In captivity
16 Taman Safari Indonesia 🇮🇩 Indonesia In captivity
17 Taipei Zoo 🇹🇼 Taiwan In captivity
18 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
19 Parc du Belvédère 🇹🇳 Tunisia In captivity
20 Badoca Safari Park 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
21 Ramat Gan Safari 🇮🇱 Israel In captivity
22 National Zoological Park Delhi 🇮🇳 India In captivity
23 Beijing Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
24 Shanghai Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
25 江苏淹城野生动物世界 🇨🇳 China In captivity
26 Parc zoologique de Lisieux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
27 Mogilyov Zoo 🇧🇾 Belarus In captivity
28 Tianjin Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
29 Slimbridge Wetland Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
30 Silesian Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
31 Wildpark Poing 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
32 São Paulo Zoo 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
33 Kano Zoo 🇳🇬 Nigeria In captivity
34 Shalom Wildlife Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
35 Parc animalier de Charleville-Mézières 🇫🇷 France In captivity
36 Parc Animalier 🇫🇷 France In captivity
37 Rajshahi Zoo 🇧🇩 Bangladesh In captivity
38 Granby Zoo 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity
39 Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
40 Kyiv Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity
41 Saint Louis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
42 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
43 Zoológico de Goiânia 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
44 Zacango Zoo 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity
45 无锡动物园 🇨🇳 China In captivity
46 ZooTampa 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
47 Gatorland 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
48 Zoo Knoxville 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
49 Lisbon Zoo 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
50 Parque Zoobotânico Arruda Câmara (BICA) 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Swan Goose in Miami?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swan Goose sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 89 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 231st most-seen of the 325 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Swan Goose in Miami?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swan Goose in Miami on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Swan Goose?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swan Goose sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Miami the best place to see a Swan Goose?

32nd of 39

Of the 39 cities where we can rate Swan Goose sightings, Miami ranks 32nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Ciudad Juárez (México, about 30%), Suzhou (China, about 10%) and Beijing (China, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Swan Goose live in Miami?

Same family: Anatidae

The closest relatives of the Swan Goose that you can see in Miami (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Muscovy Duck (about 40%), Egyptian Goose (about 30%) and Mottled Duck (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Swan Goose sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Swan Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Miami (89 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.

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