ANCESTRY OF THE GOOSE 
Ordinary Domestic Breeds Are Descendants, with Slight Modifications, of the 
Gray Lag Goose, Still Found Wild in Most Parts of the Old World— 
Breeding in Captivity Must Have Begun at Early Date— 
Importance in Antiquity 
ATURALISTS are agreed that 
N the ordinary breeds of domesti- 
cated geese are descendants of 
the gray lag goose (Anser 
anser, L.) which is still found wild 
throughout northern Asia, although 
nearly extinct in Europe. 
As it is easily tamed, it was probably 
brought into captivity at a very early 
day. E. Hahn suggests that it was the 
first bird domesticated by man, and as 
far as Europe is concerned he is doubt- 
less right. 
More ancient than their congeners the 
ducks and swans, the geese stand about 
half-way between them, in most points 
of form. The ancestry of these three 
groups, which make up the Anseres, is 
not difficult to trace, for the key is 
furnished by two strange, aberrant 
forms of goose in South America— 
Palamedea and Chauna, commonly 
known as the “Screamers.” If, says 
W. P. Pycraft,! the Anseres are not 
descendants of the archaic Screamers, 
they at least come from the stock from 
which these arose. ‘‘That is to say, the 
Screamers may either be regarded as 
the living representatives of the actual 
ancestors of the Anseres, more or less 
modified by time, or as an offshoot of 
these ancestors retaining most of the 
original characters thereof.”’ 
When man first entered Europe, the 
gray lag must have existed in immense 
numbers. Its range is from Iceland to 
Kamchatka, north occasionally as far 
as the arctic circle and south to the 
Mediterranean. It winters principally 
in India and the adjoining countries. 
Pairing for life,” the geese build a nest 
1 History of Birds, London, 1910. 
which is little better than a pile of 
rubbish, and in it the female lays from 
four to twelve, sometimes fourteen, 
eggs, resembling in appearance those of 
the domestic breeds, which she incu- 
bates for twenty-eight days. The gan- 
der stands guard, seldom moving far 
from the nest, but the old story that he 
takes his turn at incubation seems to be 
unfounded. 
The goslings, which on emerging from 
the shell are covered by a short, thick 
down, usually take their first bath not 
later than one day after birth. 
Alphéraky® describes their early training 
as follows: 
LIFE OF THE GOSLING 
“At first the young birds nip off the 
tender tops of various waterweeds 
projecting above the surface, but the 
mother soon tries to lead them away to 
a green bank or an island, where they 
begin to graze in the fashion they will 
follow for the rest of their lives. To- 
wards nightfall the brood returns to 
the nest, where the young are kept 
warm under the wings of the mother. 
Such is the daily life of the young brood 
until the goslings have grown so large 
that they cannot find room beneath 
their mother’s wings; but even after 
this they still pass several nights 
huddled close to her body. The brood 
usually goes to feed in the following 
order: in front the goose, and in her 
wake the goslings, crowded closely to- 
gether; somewhat to the rear stalks the 
gander, with neck outstretched, con- 
stantly turning to one side or the 
other, and keeping a sharp lookout for 
2 Geese have always been noted for longevity. Alphéraky mentions one in France which, at 
the age of 35, was still producing a brood each year. 
3 Sergius Alphéraky, The Geese of Europe and Asia. 
London, 1905. 
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