Graylag Goose (Anser anser)

The Greylag Goose is a large waterfowl with a bright orange bill, light brown neck and breast, a dark brown back, orange eye rings, and a white belly. The edges of the brown feathers of the goose are white that create numerous stripes on its body. The bill of the goose has an enlarged knob at its base. Greylag Goose, Anser anser

The frontal view of the face of the goose shows the white patch around the bill that extends to its eyes.

Clear Lake, CA
2008-02-20

The greylag goose is the ancestor of the domesticated geese that have been kept since acient times for their meat, eggs, and feathers. The traces of its widespread usage are shown in the names of the bird in German (Gänse), Persian (غاز), Icelandish (gæs), Russian (гусь), Hindi (हंस), Czech (Husa) and so on.

Its loud voice has lead to a (yet unconfirmed) hypothesis that the name in Japanese ga-cho (ガチョウ) came from its cries ga-ga-ga and cho (bird) hence ga-cho.