page_title: Emperor goose
section_title: Behavior
hierarchical_section_title: Emperor goose / Behavior
caption_attribution_description: English: Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) in flight
context_page_description: The emperor goose, also known as the beach goose or the painted goose, is a waterfowl species in the family Anatidae, which contains the ducks, geese, and swans. It is blue-gray in color as an adult and grows to 66–71 centimetres in length. Adults have a black chin and throat, a pink bill, yellow-orange legs, and a white head, which often turns reddish-brown in summer. In the winter, the emperor goose lives in mudflats and coasts in Alaska and occasionally Canada and the contiguous United States. In the summer, it migrates northerly several hundred miles to arctic and sub-arctic climates, where older individuals breed monogamously. Nests are constructed in holes and built up with vegetation and feathers. Eggs hatch in late June and early July, and goslings leave the nest the day they hatch. The species is an omnivore, and makes vocalizations that are more nasal than those of other geese. Listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species' population is declining due to threats such as pollution, hunting, and climate change.
context_section_description: The emperor goose is migratory, traveling north in the summer to breed and south for the winter. Unlike many goose species, which migrate thousands of miles, the emperor goose travels a few hundred miles for migration, usually about 370 miles (600 km) to 470 miles (760 km). Breeding birds molt near the breeding colonies, but geese unsuccessful with breeding move to either St. Lawrence Island or the Chukchi Peninsula to molt prior to the main southerly migration for winter. The breeding season starts in late June in Russia, but begins a few weeks earlier in Alaska, generally between 20 May and 3 June. Only individuals three years or older will mate. A monogamous species, female emperor geese have a single mate throughout their life and only mate with any other male if their mate dies. The species molts from late July to early August and leaves its breeding grounds later than any other species.
  The emperor goose breeds on tundra, building its nests in areas 10 miles (16 km) or closer to the coast. The nests are typically constructed in marshes. They are built as holes in the ground without containing nesting material, but are later built up with vegetation, such as leaves, and feathers, which the female plucks from herself. The species usually lays 4–6 eggs, but it can lay anywhere from 2 to 8; eggs are often laid in the nests of other emperor geese families. Eggs measure 7.86 centimetres (3.09 in) by 5.21 centimetres (2.05 in) on average, with an elliptical shape and a smooth shell. They are initially white colored, but become speckled with stains from their nest. Egg incubation, usually lasting 24 days, is performed only by females. According to The Game Birds of California, a 1918 book, surveys of the species' nests showed that the male did not stay with the nest. However, the Beardsley Zoo says that although the male does not help build the nest, it defends it. The eggs hatch in late June and early July. Exhibiting precociality, young are able to walk and swim hours after hatching, as well as feed themselves. They typically vacate the nest the same day as their hatching, although they do not wander far from their parents until after two months. Young can fly once 50−60 days old. 10% of emperor geese remain alive after their first year.
  Individuals of the species usually only interact with their family; however, larger flocks collect during the breeding season and the molting season. It is one of the most unsocial goose species; the only goose less social than it is the black brant. It stays low when flying, usually keeping below 90 feet (27 m) above the ground and often coming close to touching the ground with its wings. In the summer, the species' diet consists of vegetation, such as shoots, roots, and berries, while in the winter it primarily eats bivalve molluscs, which it uses its sense of touch to catch, and algae. Unlike other goose species, its diet mostly consists of animals, causing its flesh to have a strong flavor. When living near water, it eats at the edge of water bodies, which has given it the name "Beach Goose". If the species feels threatened, it goes into a body of water and swims away until the threat is a safe distance from it. Its vocalizations, according to Edward William Nelson, sound like "kla-ha, kla-ha, kla-ha", and can be differentiated from those of other geese by having a more "nasal" sound. It vocalizes less often than other geese, such as the white-fronted goose. Although the species can live to age 25 in captivity, it reaches age 12 in the wild.
caption: Flying close to the ground
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