Ajay Kumar at 21:43, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T21:43:15Z

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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Redirect|Eulabeia|the Greek mythological personification|Eulabeia (mythology)}}

{{speciesbox
| name = Bar-headed goose
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Anser indicus'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22679893A131908564 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22679893A131908564.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Bar-headed Goose - St James's Park, London - Nov 2006.jpg
| genus = Anser
| species = indicus
| authority = ([[John Latham (ornithologist)|Latham]], 1790)
| synonyms =
''Anser indica'' (''[[lapsus]]'') 
''Eulabeia indica'' ([[Ludwig Reichenbach|Reichenbach]], 1852)
| range_map = AnserIndicusIUCN.svg
}}
The '''bar-headed goose''' ('''''Anser indicus''''') is a [[goose]] that breeds in [[Central Asia]] in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in [[South Asia]], as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the [[Himalayas]].

==Taxonomy==
The grey goose genus ''Anser'' has no other member indigenous to the Indian region, nor any at all to the Ethiopian, Australian, or Neotropical regions. [[Ludwig Reichenbach]] placed the bar-headed goose in the [[monotypic]] [[genus]] ''Eulabeia'' in 1852,{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} though John Boyd's taxonomy treats both ''Eulabeia'' and the genus ''Chen'' as subgenera of ''Anser''.<ref name="Boyd">{{cite web|last=Boyd|first=John|year=2007|title=''Anserini'' |work=Taxonomy in Flux |url=http://jboyd.net/Taxo/Anserini.pdf |access-date= 30 August 2016}}</ref>

==Description==
The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus ''[[Anser (genus)|Anser]]'' by the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. A mid-sized goose, it measures {{convert|71|–|76|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length and weighs {{convert|1.87|-|3.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.

==Ecology==
[[File:Bar-headed goose Prasanna Mamidala.jpg|alt=Bar-headed goose|left|thumb|At [[Chilika Lake]]]]
[[File:Bar-headed geese.jpg|thumb|Bar-headed goose wing flapping in Hadinaru lake [[Mysore]]]]
The summer habitat is high-altitude lakes where the bird grazes on short grass. The species has been reported as migrating south from Tibet, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia before crossing the Himalayas. The bird has come to the attention of medical science in recent years as having been an early victim of the H5N1 virus, HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza), at Qinghai. It suffers [[predation]] from crows, foxes, ravens, sea eagles, gulls and others. The total population may, however, be increasing, but it is complex to assess population trends, as this species occurs over more than {{convert|2500000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

The bar-headed goose is one of the world's highest-flying birds,<ref name="Than">{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/110610-highest-flying-birds-geese-himalaya-mountains-animals/ |title=Highest Flying Bird Found; Can Scale Himalaya: The Bar-headed Goose Can Reach Nearly 21,120 Feet, New Study Shows |first=Ker |last=Than |work=National Geographic News |date=June 10, 2011 |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |location=Washington, DC, US |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201073336/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/110610-highest-flying-birds-geese-himalaya-mountains-animals/ |url-status=live }}</ref> having been heard flying across Mount Makalu – the fifth highest mountain on earth at {{convert|8,481|m|ft|abbr=on}} – and apparently seen over Mount Everest – {{convert|8,848|m|ft|abbr=on}} – although this is a second-hand report with no verification.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Swan |first1=L. W. |year=1961 |title=The Ecology of the High Himalayas |journal=Scientific American |volume=205 |issue=4 |pages=68–78 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1061-68|bibcode=1961SciAm.205d..68S }}</ref> This demanding migration has long puzzled physiologists and naturalists: "there must be a good explanation for why the birds fly to the extreme altitudes... particularly since there are passes through the Himalaya at lower altitudes, and which are used by other migrating bird species."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Black |first1=C. P. |last2=Tenney |first2=S. M. |year=1980 |title=Oxygen Transport During Progressive Hypoxia in High-altitude and Sea-level Waterfowl |journal=Respiration Physiology |volume=39 |issue=2| pages=217–239 |doi=10.1016/0034-5687(80)90046-8 |pmid=7375742}}</ref> In fact, bar-headed geese had for a long time not been directly tracked (using GPS or satellite logging technology) flying higher than {{convert|6,540|m|ft}}, and it is now believed that they do take the high passes through the mountains. The challenging northward migration from lowland India to breed in the summer on the Tibetan Plateau is undertaken in stages, with the flight across the Himalaya (from sea-level) being undertaken non-stop in as little as seven hours. Surprisingly, despite predictable tail winds that blow up the Himalayas (in the same direction of travel as the geese), bar-headed geese spurn these winds, waiting for them to die down overnight, when they then undertake the greatest rates of climbing flight ever recorded for a bird, and sustain these climbs rates for hours on end, according to research published in 2011.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.1017295108 |title=The Trans-Himalayan Flights of Bar-headed Geese (''Anser indicus'') |year=2011 |last1=Hawkes |first1=L. A. |last2=Balachandran |first2=S. |last3=Batbayar |first3=N. |last4=Butler |first4=P. J. |last5=Frappell |first5=P. B. |last6=Milsom |first6=W. K. |last7=Tseveenmyadag |first7=N. |last8=Newman |first8=S. H. |last9=Scott |first9=G. R. |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=108 |issue=23 |pages=9516–9519 |pmid=21628594 |pmc=3111297|bibcode=2011PNAS..108.9516H |doi-access=free }}</ref>[[File:Bar-headed Goose RWD1.jpg|left|thumb|Swimming at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park]]The 2011 study found the geese peaking at an altitude of around 6,400 m (21,000 ft).<ref name="Than" /> In a 2012 study that tagged 91 geese and tracked their migration routes, it was determined that the geese spent 95% of their time below {{convert|5784|m|ft|abbr=on}}, choosing to take a longer route through the Himalayas in order to utilize lower-altitude valleys and passes. Only 10 of the tagged geese were ever recorded above this altitude, and only one exceeded {{convert|6500|m|ft|abbr=on}}, reaching {{convert|7290|m|ft|abbr=on}}. All but one of these high-altitude flights were recorded at night, which along with the early morning, is the most common time of day for geese migration. The colder denser air during these times may be equivalent to an altitude hundreds of meters lower. It is suspected by the authors of these two studies that tales of the geese flying at {{convert|8000|m|ft|abbr=on}} are apocryphal.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hawkes |first1=L. A. |last2=Balachandran |first2=S. |last3=Batbayar |first3=N. |title=The Paradox of Extreme High-altitude Migration in Bar-headed Geese ''Anser indicus'' |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume= 280|issue= 1750|pages= 20122114|date=October 2012 |pmid=23118436 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.2114 |display-authors=etal|pmc=3574432 }}[http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/10/25/rspb.2012.2114.short?rss=1 Abstract].</ref> Bar headed geese have been observed flying at {{Convert|7000|m|ft}}.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30799436 Bar-headed geese: Highest bird migration tracked] ''[[BBC]]''</ref>

The bar-headed goose [[Bird migration|migrates]] over the [[Himalayas]] to spend the winter in parts of [[South Asia]] (from [[Assam]] to as far south as [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takekawa |first1=J. Y. |last2=Heath |first2=S. R. |last3=Douglas |first3=D. C. |last4=Perry |first4=W. M. |last5=Javed |first5=S. |last6=Newman |first6=S. H. |last7=Suwal |first7=R. N. |last8=Rahmani |first8=A. R. |last9= houdhury |first9=B. C. |year=2009 |title=Geographic Variation in Bar-headed Geese ''Anser Indicus'': Connectivity of Wintering Areas and Breeding Grounds Across a Broad Front |journal=Wildfowl |volume=59 |pages=100–123 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> The modern winter habitat of the species is cultivated fields, where it feeds on barley, rice and wheat, and may damage crops. Birds from Kyrgyzstan have been seen to stopover in western Tibet and southern Tajikistan for 20 to 30 days before migrating farther south. Some birds may show high wintering site fidelity.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Seasonal Migrations of Four Individual Bar-headed Geese ''Anser indicus'' from Kyrgyzstan Followed by Satellite Telemetry| last1=Koppen |first1=U |last2=Yakovlev |first2=A. P. |last3=Barth |first3=R. |last4=Kaatz |first4=M. |last5=Berthold |first5=P. |year=2010 |journal=Journal of Ornithology |volume=151 |issue=3 |pages=703–712 |doi= 10.1007/s10336-010-0492-1| s2cid=24457113 | url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00575245/file/PEER_stage2_10.1007%252Fs10336-010-0492-1.pdf }}</ref>
[[File:Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) with Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) at Bharatpur I IMG 5647.jpg|thumb|left|With glossy ibis ''[[Plegadis falcinellus]]'' at [[Keoladeo National Park]], [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]], [[Rajasthan]], [[India]].]]

They nest mainly on the [[Tibetan Plateau]]. Intraspecific brood parasitism is noticed with lower rank females attempting to lay their eggs in the nests of higher ranking females.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weigmann | first1=C. |last2=Lamprecht |first2=J. |year=1991 | title=Intraspecific Nest Parasitism in Bar-headed Geese, ''Anser indicus'' |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=677–688 |doi=10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80905-4| s2cid=53184374 }}</ref>

The bar-headed goose is often kept in captivity, as it is considered beautiful and breeds readily. Records{{clarify|date=February 2013|reason="Records" of what? This is a weird way to use the word.}} in [[Great Britain]] are frequent, and almost certainly relate to escapes. However, the species has bred on several occasions in recent years, and around five pairs were recorded in 2002, the most recent available report of the Rare Birds Breeding Panel. It is possible that, owing to a combination of frequent migration, accidental escapes and deliberate introduction, the species is becoming gradually more established in Great Britain. The bird is sociable and causes no problems for other birds.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} The [[Feral animal|feral]] population is believed to be declining in Great Britain due to overhunting.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}

The bar-headed goose has escaped or been deliberately released in [[Florida]], U.S., but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and it may only persist due to continuing escapes or releases.[http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/birds/bar-headed-goose/]

==Physiology and morphology==
[[File:Anser indicus rb.jpg|thumb|Head detail]]
The main physiological challenge of bar-headed geese is extracting oxygen from [[Hypoxia (medical)|hypoxic]] air and transporting it to [[Cellular respiration|aerobic]] muscle fibres in order to sustain flight at high altitudes. Flight is very metabolically costly at high-altitudes because birds need to flap harder in thin air to generate lift.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Altshuler|first=D.|author2=Dudley, R.|title=The physiology and biomechanics of avian flight at high altitude|journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology|date=6 January 2006|volume=46|issue=1|pages=62–71|doi=10.1093/icb/icj008|pmid=21672723|doi-access=free}}</ref> Studies have found that bar-headed geese breathe more deeply and efficiently under low-oxygen conditions, which serves to increase oxygen uptake from the environment.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Milsom | first1 = William K. | last2 = Scott | first2 = Graham | year = 2008 | title = Respiratory adaptations in the high flying bar-headed goose | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C | volume = 148 | issue = 4| page = 460 | doi = 10.1016/j.cbpc.2008.10.047 }}</ref> The [[haemoglobin]] of their blood has a higher affinity for oxygen than that of low-altitude geese,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Liu | first1 = X.-Z. | last2 = Li | first2 = S.-L. | last3 = Jing | first3 = H. | last4 = Liang | first4 = Y.-H. | last5 = Hua | first5 = Z.-Q. | last6 = Lu | first6 = G.-Y. | year = 2001 | title = Avian haemoglobins and structural basis of high affinity for oxygen: Structure of bar-headed goose aquomet haemoglobin | journal = Acta Crystallographica Section D | volume = 57 | issue = 6| pages = 775–783 | doi = 10.1107/S0907444901004243 | pmid = 11375496 }}</ref> which has been attributed to a single [[amino acid]] [[point mutation]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Jessen, T.|author2=Weber, R.E.|author3= Fermi, G.|author4= Tame, J. |title=Adaptation of bird hemoglobins to high altitudes: demonstration of molecular mechanism by protein engineering|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |date=August 1, 1991|volume=88|issue=51|pages=6519–22|pmid=1862080|pmc=52117|doi=10.1073/pnas.88.15.6519|bibcode=1991PNAS...88.6519J|doi-access=free}}</ref> This mutation causes a conformational shift in the haemoglobin molecule from the low-oxygen to the high-oxygen affinity form.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Zhang, J.|author2=Hua, Z|author3= Tame, J.R|author4= Zhang, R|author5= Gu, X.|journal=Journal of Molecular Biology|date=January 26, 1996|volume=255|issue=3|pages=484–93|pmid=8568892|doi=10.1006/jmbi.1996.0040|title=The crystal structure of a high oxygen affinity species of haemoglobin (bar-headed goose haemoglobin in the oxy form)}}</ref> The left-ventricle of the heart, which is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to the body via [[systemic circulation]], has significantly more [[capillaries]] in bar-headed geese than in lowland birds, maintaining oxygenation of [[cardiac muscle cell]]s and thereby [[cardiac output]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Scott, G.R.|author2=Schulte, P.M.|author-link2=Patricia Schulte|author3=Egginton, S.|author4=Scott, A.L.|author5=Richards, J.G.|author6=Milsom, W.K.|date=January 2011|title=Molecular evolution of cytochrome C oxidase underlies high-altitude adaptation in the bar-headed goose|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume=28|issue=1|pages=351–63|doi=10.1093/molbev/msq205|pmid=20685719|doi-access=free}}</ref> Compared to lowland birds, [[mitochondria]] (the main site of oxygen consumption) in the flight muscle of bar-headed geese are significantly closer to the [[sarcolemma]],<ref>{{cite journal|author=Scott, G.R.|author2=Egginton, S.|author3= Richards, J.G.|author4= Milsom, W.K.|title=Evolution of muscle phenotype for extreme high altitude flight in the bar-headed goose|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B|date=October 22, 2009|volume=276|issue=1673|pages=3645–53|pmid=19640884|doi=10.1098/rspb.2009.0947|pmc=2817306}}</ref> decreasing the intracellular diffusion distance of oxygen from the capillaries to the mitochondria.

Bar-headed geese have a slightly larger wing area for their weight than other geese, which is believed to help them fly at high altitudes.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lee | first1 = S.Y. | last2 = Scott | first2 = G.R. | last3 = Milsom | first3 = W.K. | year = 2008 | title = Have wing morphology or flight kinematics evolved for extreme high altitude migration in the bar-headed goose? | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C | volume = 148 | issue = 4| pages = 324–331 | doi = 10.1016/j.cbpc.2008.05.009 | pmid = 18635402 }}</ref> While this decreases the power output required for flight in thin air, birds at high altitude still need to flap harder than lowland birds.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Altshuler, D.L.|author2=Dudley, R.|title=Kinematics of hovering hummingbird flight along simulated and natural elevational gradients|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|date=September 2003|volume=206|issue=18|pages=3139–47|pmid=12909695|doi=10.1242/jeb.00540|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Cultural depiction==

The bar-headed goose has been suggested as being the model for the [[Hamsa (bird)|Hamsa]] of Indian mythology.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/TheGooseInIndianLiteratureAndArt ''The Goose in Indian Literature and Art''] (Leiden, 1962) by J. Ph. Vogel, p. 2</ref> Another interpretation suggests that the bar-headed goose is likely to be the ''Kadamb'' in ancient and medieval Sanskrit literature, whereas ''Hamsa'' generally refers to the swan.<ref>KN Dave (2005), Birds in Sanskrit Literature, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120818422}}, pages 422-447</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus)- Preening & resting at Bharatpur I IMG 5672.jpg|Preening and resting at [[Keoladeo National Park]]
File:Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) at Bharatpur I IMG 5666.jpg|At [[Keoladeo National Park]]
File:Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) at Bharatpur I IMG 5637.jpg|At [[Keoladeo National Park]]
File:Ba- headed Geese- Bharatpur I2 IMG 8254.jpg|[[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]], [[India]].
File:Bar-headed Geese- Bharatpur I IMG 8335.jpg|Flying off at [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]], [[India]].
File:Bar-headed Geese- Bharatpur I IMG 8337.jpg|Flying off at [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]], [[Rajasthan]], [[India]].
File:Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) grazing at Bharatpur I IMG 5630.jpg|At [[Keoladeo National Park]], [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]], [[Rajasthan]], [[India]].
File:Landing of Bar-headed Goose at Nil Nirjan Lake at Hetampur, West Bengal, India.jpg|Bar-headed geese near [[Hetampur]], [[West Bengal]], India
File:Himalayan Bar-headed Goose Cincinnati.jpg|Bar-headed goose with Canada geese near [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], U.S., July 2015
File:Bar-Headed Goose - Kabini scape.jpg|In Karnataka, India
Anser indicus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.15.3.jpg| ''Anser indicus'' eggs - [[MHNT]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Tsomoriri Wetland Conservation Reserve]]

==References==
Javed,S., Takekawa, Y.J., Douglas,D.C., Rahmani, A.R., Nagendran,M., Choudhury, B.C., and Sharma, S. 2000 Tracking the Spring Migration of a Bar-headed Goose across the Himalayas with Satellite Tracking. Global Environmental Research. 4 (2000) 2:195-205.
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Anser indicus}}
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/05/27/1017295108 Hawkes et al. (2011) The Trans-Himalayan flights of bar-headed geese (Anser indicus)]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q191125}}

[[Category:Anser (bird)|bar-headed goose]]
[[Category:Geese|bar-headed goose]]
[[Category:Birds of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Birds of Tibet]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1790|bar-headed goose]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Latham (ornithologist)|bar-headed goose]]

Bar-headed goose - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 21:43, 30 August 2023