Indian Wild Life

Indian Wild Life

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National Parks in india
Bandhavgarh National Park
Bandipur National Park
Corbett National Park
Dachigam National Park
Desert National Park
Dudhwa National Park
Gir National Park
Kanha National Park
Keoladeo National Park
Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary
Mudumalai National Park
Manas National Park
Mukurth National Park
Nagarhole National Park
Nanda Devi National Park
Periyar National Park
Rajaji National Park
Ranthambore National Park
Sariska National Park
Sultanpur National Park
Sundarbans National Park
Valley of Flowers National Park

Reptiles In India
Chameleons
Daboia
Mugger-crocodile
Tortoise
Turtle
Water Monitor


Greylag Goose

The Greylag Goose,It was in pre-Linnean times known as the Wild Goose ("Anser ferus"). This species is the ancestor of domesticated geese in Europe and North America. Flocks of feral birds derived from domesticated birds are widespread. The Greylag Goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Physical appearance

The Greylag is a large goose, 74–84 cm (29–33 in) long with a 149–168 cm (59–66 in) wingspan and a body weight of 2.3–5.5 kg (5–12 lbs). It has a large head and almost triangular bill. The legs are pink, and the bird is easily identified in flight by the pale leading edge to the wing. It has a loud cackling call, kiYAAA-ga-ga, like the domestic goose.

The western European nominate subspecies, A. a. anser, has an orange-pink bill and is slightly smaller and darker than the pink-billed Asian race, A. a. rubrirostris. Eastern European birds are often intermediate in appearance.

Interesting Behavior

These birds are famous for their extremely strong Fixed Action Patterns behavior. FAP's are highly specific, neurologically hardwired behaviors that are exhibited virtually identically everytime a stimulus is presented. These use it to push eggs back into the nest when they have fallen out. In fact, to demonstrate how ritualized these FAPs are, if the egg is removed as the graylag goose pulls it back toward the nest with its beak, the goose will continue the movement for a certain length of time and then restart the movement after it sits down on the nest and realizes an egg is still missing.

You can confront it with a novel situation, such as a doorknob next to the nest. The FAP causes it to retrieve the doorknob as if it were an egg. The exaggeration of the sign stimulus, such as replacing a goose egg with a volleyball, causes an exaggerration of the FAP. Source: Most college level Evolution and Ecology text books. Specific source at hand (I dont want to go find my Evo/Eco books from my shelf) the Kaplan published book, "GRE EXAM Subject Test: Biology. 2007-2008 edition" on pages 214-215 in the section on "Animal Behavior and Learning", under subsection FAP.

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