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Have you ever seen a white goose and wondered what it was?
Man has domesticated many animals over time and geese are no exception. This article will look at a list of 9 types of white geese, both wild and domesticated. It will include information on where they are native to or their origins, habitat and diet.
Snow Goose
The snow goose as in the above picture has mainly a white plumage with black feathers on the tips of the wings, which are noticeable in flight. Their beaks are pink and they have red-pink legs. The white snow goose is the most common.
Native to
The snow goose breeds in Greenland, Arctic North America & Siberia. They mostly migrate south in the Autumn for winter to the Atlantic coastal area of America
Habitat
Fresh & Salt water marshes, wetlands, farmlands & fields
Diet
Grasses, leaves, roots, & sometimes berries.
Sebastopol goose
These geese are domesticated and most likely have descended from the European greylag goose. The Sebastopol goose is actually rare and on the endangered breeding list. As seen in the picture above the main body of feathers on this attractive looking goose are curled. The head and neck feathers are straight. They have beautiful blue eyes and orange beaks.
Native to
Originally form the River Danube area to the black sea.
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Grass, seed, grain, insects
Embden goose
The Embden goose is one of the oldest domesticated birds and one of the most used breeds in the commercial industry. Its feathers are completely white, and has a bright orange beak and blue eyes as seen in the above picture.
Native to
Thought to originate from Germany, now world wide
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Grass, clover, seed heads
Roman Tufted goose
This small and chunky goose, originates from Italy and again is an old domesticated breed. These geese are pure white, with a tuft of feathers on the top of its head, as suggested by its name. They have red/orange beaks and legs and blue eyes, as in the above picture.
Native to
Origins of Italy, now found worldwide
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Insects, grass & seed
White chinese goose
The white chinese geese as seen in the above picture, are mainly white. They are known for their long graceful looking neck and the knob on the forehead. They have orange beaks and blue eyes.
Native to
Originate from China, now world wide
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Mainly grass
Danish Legart goose
Another all white goose is the domesticated Danish Legart as seen above. They are recognised worldwide as one of the best breeds.
Native to
Originally from Denmark, now world wide
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Mainly grass
Czech Goose
The Czech goose is a European goose breed originally from the greylag goose. They are a smaller breed than the Roman tufted. As you can see from the picture above they have a thick short neck, quite a stocky bird with an orange beak.
Native to
Originating in Bohemia
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Mainly grass
Slovak Goose
Another pure white goose is the Slovak goose, again a domestic bred goose. Due to a low population of these birds they are considered an endangered breed.
Native to
Slovakia
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Mainly grass
White male West of England goose and saddle back females
The West of England goose is a rare heritage breed. Bred by some farmers to ensure the breed survives. As shown in the picture above the male gander is the white one and the female has some colouring known as saddleback grey colouring.
Native to
Originated in Devon & cornwall UK
Habitat
Farms
Diet
Grass, mealworms
In summary
I hope you have enjoyed looking at the list of 9 varieties of white geese we have seen in this article. Personally I found it Interesting that there are so many domesticated white varieties.
Keep a look out next time you’re at a lake or marsh waters as there have been reports and photographic evidence of sightings of escaped domestic birds who have decided they want to rejoin their wild relatives and are living and breeding among them.