Birds Guide

Anserinae
A Canada Goose
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae   Subfamily: Anserinae Vigors, 1825
Genera
Cygnus (including Olor) Coscoroba Sarcidiornis (extinct) Anser Chen Branta Cereopsis Cnemiornis (extinct)

The Anserinae is a subfamily of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It includes the swans and geese; this article deals with the swans and true geese in the subfamily Anserinae. See swan and goose, and the individual species, for more details. A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to the shelducks, have "goose" as part of their name; see the family page at Anatidae for these and others.

Species of swan and goose:

• Genus Cygnus - swans
  • Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus. Arctic North America, Europe and Asia, wintering further south.
    Bewick's Swan, Cygnus bewickii. Siberia, wintering on the coasts of the North, Caspian and Yellow Seas and Japan. Often considered a subspecies of C. columbianus.
    Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus. Subarctic Europe and Asia, wintering further south.
    Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator. Subarctic North America, wintering further south.
    Mute Swan Cygnus olor. Temperate Europe and Asia, mainly resident.
  • Black Swan Cygnus atratus. Australia, resident or nomadic.
    • New Zealand Swan, Cygnus atratus sumnerensis. New Zealand, possibly Chatham Islands, resident. Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • Black-necked Swan Cygnus melanocoryphus. Southern South America, wintering further north.

• Genus Coscoroba
  • Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba. Southern South America, wintering further north.

• Genus Sarcidiornis
  • Mascarene Swan, Sarcidiornis mauritania (mauritianus) an extinct species which lived in the Mascarene Islands, last observed in Mauritius in 1668 [1].

• Genus Anser - grey geese
  • Greylag Goose Anser anser. Temperate Europe and Asia.
    White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons. Arctic North America, Europe and Asia, wintering further south.
    Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus. Subarctic Europe and Asia, wintering further south.
    Bean Goose Anser fabalis. Arctic and subarctic Europe and Asia, wintering further south.
    Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus. Arctic Atlantic Ocean shores, wintering further south in western Europe.
    Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus. Mountains of temperate central Asia, wintering further south in India.
    Swan Goose Anser cygnoides. Temperate eastern Asia, wintering further south.

 

• Genus Chen - white geese (sometimes merged into Anser)
  • Snow Goose Chen caerulescens or Anser caerulescens. Arctic and subarctic North America, wintering further south.
    Ross's Goose Chen rossii or Anser rossii. Arctic North America, wintering further south.
    Emperor Goose Chen canagica or Anser canagicus. Arctic Pacific Ocean shores, wintering a short distance further south.

• Genus Branta - black geese
  • Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis. Arctic Atlantic Ocean shores, wintering further south in western Europe.
    Canada Goose Branta canadensis. Arctic to temperate North America, wintering further south or resident.
    Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii. Arctic to temperate North America, wintering further south or resident.
    Hawaiian Goose or Nēnē, Branta sandvicensis. Hawaii, resident.
    Nēnē-nui, Branta hylobadistes. Hawaii, resident. Conservation status: Prehistoric
    Brent Goose Branta bernicla.
    Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis. Arctic Asia, wintering further in southeast Europe.

• Genus Cereopsis
  • Cape Barren Goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae. Southern Australia, resident or nomadic. Distinct from other geese and often placed in a subfamily of its own.

• Genus Cnemiornis - New Zealand geese Conservation status: Prehistoric
  • South Island Goose Cnemiornis calcitrans. New Zealand, South Island, resident. Conservation status: Prehistoric
    North Island Goose Cnemiornis gracilis. New Zealand, North Island, resident. Conservation status: Prehistoric