nene goose or hawaiian goose

Description:

spotted at houston zoo. The Hawaiian Goose or Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis) is a species of goose endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The official bird of the state of Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian Goose is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Maui, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi. The Hawaiian name Nēnē comes from its soft call. The Hawaiian Goose evolved from the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), which most likely migrated to the Hawaiian islands 500,000 years ago, shortly after the island of Hawaiʻi was formed. This ancestor is the progenitor of the Hawaiian Goose as well as the prehistoric Giant Hawaiʻi Goose[3] and Nēnē-nui (Branta hylobadistes). The Nēnē-nui was larger than the Hawaiian Goose, varied from flightless to flighted depending on the individual, and inhabited the island of Maui. The Hawaiian Goose is a medium-sized goose at 41 centimetres (16 in) tall. Females have a mass of 1.525–2.56 kilograms (3.36–5.6 lb), while males average 1.695–3.05 kilograms (3.74–6.7 lb), 11% larger than females. Adult males have a black head and hindneck, buff cheeks and heavily furrowed neck.The neck has black and white diagonal stripes. Aside from being smaller, the female Hawaiian Goose is similar to the male in colouration. The adult's bill, legs and feet are black. It has soft feathers under its chin. Goslings resemble the male, but are a duller brown and with less demarcation between the colours of the head and neck, and striping and barring effects are much reduced. The bill, legs and feet are the same as for the adult. Its strong toes are padded and have reduced webbing, an adaptation that allows it to swiftly traverse rough terrain such as lava plains. The Hawaiian Goose is an herbivore that will either graze or browse, depending on the availability of vegetation. Food items include the leaves, seeds, fruit, and flowers of grasses and shrubs

Habitat:

The Hawaiian Goose could at one time be found on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi. Today, its range is restricted to Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi. The Hawaiian Goose is an inhabitant of shrubland, grassland, coastal dunes, and lava plains, and related anthropogenic habitats such as pasture and golf courses from sea level to as much as 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). Some populations migrated between lowland breeding grounds and montane foraging areas.[

Notes:

The Hawaiian Goose is the world's rarest goose. It is believed that it once was common, with approximately 25,000 Hawaiian Geese living in Hawaiʻi when Captain James Cook arrived in 1778. However, hunting and introduced predators, such as Small Asian Mongooses, pigs, and cats, reduced the population to 30 birds by 1952. However, this species breeds well in captivity, and has been successfully re-introduced; in 2004, it was estimated that there were 800 birds in the wild, as well as 1000 in wildfowl collections and zoos.