Large duck (approx 90 cm or 35.5 in) with an also large wingspan (approx 180 cm or 6 ft) and a robust appearance. Upperparts of greyish colour with a scaly look and small cream-coloured borders. Similar head, neck, breast and underparts but more clear and with white bands among the grey plumage. White tail with a dark band on top. Short and strong legs with a pinkish tone. Short and orange bill. There are no differences in colour between sexes.
Wetlands
Species of open and flooded areas, such as marshes, shallow lagoons and flooded meadows with low vegetation. Also present in the environment of reservoirs with cereal crops and nearby rice fields.
Wintering bird in the province. It comes from Sweden, Norway or Denmark and makes one annual laying of 4 to 6 eggs from March. Nest on the ground. Vegetarian, with preference for buds, tubers and rhizomes of marsh plants. It is a very gregarious bird, especially during the wintering period, and noisy.
These ducks can be watched in Malaga, especially in the Fuente de Piedra lagoon and in the lower section and mouth of the Guadalhorce river. There are also observations in the artificial lagoons of the Technology Park. Stages 18 and 35 of the Great Path.
Greylag geese are the wild ancestors of domestic geese. They are extremely familiar birds. During their migratory journey, families travel together, parents with their offspring. Family groups keep together in the wintering areas and maintain a certain separation from other families. They have a very elaborate social behaviour and have been protagonists of literary works such as "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgersson", a story book by the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf that is worth reading. These geese were the birds that allowed the Austrian Nobel Prize, Professor Konrad Lorenz, the discovery of the physiological and ethological process of imprinting, a mechanism that establishes mother-baby relationships in most animal species.
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