Upland Geese

Description:

Spotted this pair of Upland Geese along main park road in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. The species is sexually dimorphic; the male is white and the female is brown--like kelp geese.

Habitat:

Along main park road in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Notes:

Upland Geese are very common throughout southern grasslands and steppe in southern South America. Most wet areas in the overwhelmingly dry landscape of Patagonia host this species, occasionally in numbers. The species is startlingly sexually dimorphic; males are gray and white with black barring on the belly and upper back (some males are totally white-bellied), while females are darker below and have chestnut heads. These geese form large flocks, and occasionally mix with other species of sheldgeese; however, they almost always outnumber other species. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Neotropical Birds http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/por...