Chloephaga picta
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The upland goose or Magellan goose (Chloephaga picta) is a sheldgoose of the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. Sheldgeese resemble true geese and display similar habits, yet they are more closely related to shelducks and ducks.
This species nests and breeds close to water (rivers, ponds, oceans) either on the ground or near it among vegetation, usually in grasslands or coastal meadows in the Falkland Islands or in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego at the beginning of the austral summer. Population estimates suggest the insular subpopulations are stable, but continental populations show a recent decline in abundance. Upland geese are herbivorous, specializing in plant leaves, stems and seeds.
The upland goose was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other ducks, geese and swans in the genus Anas and coined the binomial name Anas picta. Gmelin based his description on the "painted goose" that had been included by the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tierra del Fuego National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 4 | Paris Zoological Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Parc Phœnix | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Zoobotánico Jerez | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Zoo d'Amiens | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Wow Safari Thoiry | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Reserva Tatu Carreta | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 11 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Réserve africaine de Thoiry | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Wildlife World Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 15 | Centro Cicogne e Anatidi | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 16 | Karlsruhe Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Zoo Aquarium de Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 18 | La Plata Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 19 | Attica Zoological Park | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 20 | Зоопарк ХІІ Місяців | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 21 | Faunia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 22 | Biotropica | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 23 | Vogel- und Tierpark Irgenöd | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 24 | Buttonwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Medenychi Zoo Limpopo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 26 | Natura Parc | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 27 | Avifauna | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 28 | Château of Thoiry | 🇫🇷 France |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report an Upland Goose sighting in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, based on 1,878 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 106 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report an Upland Goose in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, against about 60% in April and June, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Upland 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.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Upland Goose sightings, Torres del Paine National Park ranks 2nd at about 80%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tierra del Fuego National Park (Argentina, about 80%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Upland Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Torres del Paine National Park (1,878 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.
