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Anseriformes waterfowl. Order anseriformes (anseriformes)

International scientific name

Anseriformes Wagler,

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Taxonomy
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Anseriformes, or lamellar(lat. Anseriformes) - a detachment of new-pygmy birds, in which, along with such familiar birds as geese, ducks, swans, there are also more exotic families such as, for example, Palamedeans from South America. Anseriformes are a very common order and play an important role in the biosphere of the temperate latitudes of the Earth. Some species of Anseriformes are also of agricultural importance.

Characteristic

In the order of Anseriformes, birds of large and average size... The largest representative of the order is the mute swan, weighing 13 kg. The smallest is a teal whistle, which weighs about 200-300 g. As a rule, anseriformes have a weighty body and a relatively small head located on a long neck. With the exception of palamedes, the beak is wide and flat, and often has a hardness at the tip, making it easier to pull off foliage and plant material. On the sides of the edge of the beak, serrated plates form a kind of sieve that allows you to filter edible particles from the water. They are especially developed in mergansers, which, thanks to these teeth, can hold caught fish in their beak.

A characteristic feature Anseriformes are the membranes between the three forward-facing toes that are important for locomotion in the water. However, they almost disappeared from the palamedes and the half-footed goose ( Anseranas semipalmata) that live on land and hardly enter the water. The plumage is waterproof and variegated in many species, especially in males. Birds devote a lot of time to plumage care. It is lubricated with a waterproof secretion secreted by special glands on the animal's skin, which are stimulated by the touch of the beak. During molting, in most species, old feathers fall out almost simultaneously and immediately. At this time, the birds are not able to fly, and to protect themselves from enemies, males show only a very discreet color. Thermal insulation is provided by a thick layer of down and subcutaneous fat.

Most Anseriformes are excellent flyers, they fly fast with frequent flaps of their wings. At the same time, the feathers on the wings vibrate, making a sound characteristic of each species. The representative of this family is the mountain goose ( Anser indicus) is the highest flying bird in the world. It can rise to a height of 10,000 m. As migratory birds, many species cover distances of many thousands of kilometers. The wings of anseriformes are medium in size, pointed. On the ground, most Anseriformes, with the exception of geese and brants, do not walk very well, waddling from side to side. They are excellent swimmers and divers. Anseriformes spend about 3 minutes under water and dive to a depth of 40 meters. They move under water with their paws, some species also use wings.

Spreading

Basically, anseriformes live near water bodies, in particular near swamps and lakes, in river estuaries and in coastal regions. Many species spend most of their life on the high seas and return to land only to nest. Representatives of this order are distributed on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Most different types Anseriformes can be found in the tropics of South America, Africa and Australia.

Nutrition

Geese in the pasture

Some anseriformes feed on animal food - fish, crustaceans, aquatic molluscs, etc. Most are looking for food on the water surface or near it. There are, however, species that dive deeper for aquatic plants. Geese and palamedeans also feed on land, where they nibble on grass. They regularly swallow small stones, which in their muscular stomach help to grind food, and then are excreted along with the droppings.

Reproduction

Most of the representatives of the order are monogamous, in some species, couples are formed for life, and both parents take part in raising the offspring. However, in most species of anseriformes, pairs are formed only for one season, and the male does not take any part in incubating and feeding the chicks. Anseriformes nests are located near water bodies, in coastal thickets, bushes and in reeds, some nest in hollows, in earthen burrows or on islets. As a rule, the nest is lined with fluff from the inside, which the female pulls out from her belly. In clutch there are from 2 to 15 eggs, more often more than five. Eggs are one-color, usually white or greenish. Incubation lasts more than 25 days. The hatched chicks are already covered with down and after a few hours are able to run, swim and even feed on their own. The female, less often both parents look after them and, in case of danger, selflessly protect them. Chicks begin to fly at the age of about 2 months, in large species by 3.5-4 months. Sexual maturity occurs in the second or third year of life.

Taxonomy

Anseriformes include three families:

Half-footed geese ( Anseranatidae)
Duck ( Anatidae)
Spur geese ( Anhimidae)

Extinct families and species:

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
The life of animals in 7 volumes. V.6 Birds. - M .: Education, 1986

Notes (edit)

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Synonyms:

Reichskommissariat
Randal McDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim

See what "Anseriformes" is in other dictionaries:

anseriformes- Anseriformes ... Spelling dictionary-reference

GEORGIAN- lamellar-billed (Anseriformes), a detachment of waterfowl. Based on the structure of the limbs, muscles, palate, larynx, digestion. apparatus, etc. in a detachment combine 2 suborders externally and biologically very different. birds: palamedeans, very ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

anseriformes- noun, number of synonyms: 2 palamedea (2) duck (1) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

GEORGIAN- s; pl. A detachment of waterfowl, uniting two families: palamedeas and ducks. * * * Goose-shaped goose-shaped (lamellar-billed) (Anseriformes), order of birds. It unites about 150 species, the vast majority of which belong to the family ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

anseriformes- žąsiniai paukščiai statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Anseriformes angl. anseriformes vok. Entenvögel; Zahnschnäbler rus. anseriformes; lamellar pranc. anseriformes ryšiai: platesnis terminas - šiuolaikiniai ... ... Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

Anseriformes- lamellar-billed (Anscriformes), a detachment of waterfowl. It unites two families: Palamedea and Duck ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Anseriformes- pl. A detachment of waterfowl, uniting two families: palamedeas and ducks. Efremova's Explanatory Dictionary. T.F. Efremova. 2000 ... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

anseriformes- goose-like, sh ... Russian spelling dictionary

anseriformes- geese / zealous, oh ... Together. Apart. Hyphened.

Anseriformes are well known to everyone. These include swans, ducks and geese. In total, there are 154 species of anseriformes on Earth, of which 58 species are found on the territory of the USSR. These are waterfowl of medium and large size. The largest species in our country is the mute swan, a beautiful snow-white red-nosed bird with a curved neck. It can weigh up to 13 kg. The smallest species is the widespread teal whistle, which weighs 200-300 g.

The toes of almost all Anseriformes are connected by a swimming membrane, the neck is usually long - to make it easier to get food from under the water. The beak is wide and flat, covered with a sensitive film. The edges of the beak and mandible are covered with narrow transverse horny plates, which form a sort of filter, or horny denticles - in those species that feed on fish or other animals. The plumage is dense, there is a lot of fluff in it. To prevent feathers from getting wet in water, birds lubricate them with a special fatty secretion of the coccygeal gland. That is why both ducks and geese are always "dry".

Most Anseriformes fly fast, flapping their wings frequently. But some fly very badly, and the Patagonian steamer duck does not fly at all, its wings are underdeveloped. All of them swim great, and many dive well, plunging into the water to a depth of 4 m and staying under water for up to 3.5 minutes.

Anseriformes inhabit freshwater bodies of water and the coasts of the seas - from the polar deserts of the Arctic to the equator. Birds nesting in cold and temperate latitudes fly away to warmer climes... Most of our geese and ducks winter in the Mediterranean, the Black and Caspian Seas, India and China.

Nests are located near the water on the shore, usually in grass, reed thickets, sometimes in hollows (for example, near a gogol) or in earthen holes (near an ogary and sheath). Having built a nest, the duck lined it from the inside with down, which it plucked from its abdomen. The famous eider down is widely known - the best natural heat insulator.

The eider is a large sea duck that inhabits the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Its nest is a hole, barely lined with leaves and stems. When the eider lays eggs, it covers them with its warm gray down. Each nest contains 15-20 g of pure fluff. When the chicks leave the nest, the fluff can be collected.

At the beginning of the last century, Russia ranked first in the export of eider down: several tens of tons were exported every year! At the same time, of course, they took fluff not only from empty nests. As a result, by the beginning of the XX century. There are very few eiders left. To protect them in our country, the Kandalaksha Nature Reserve was created on the White and Barents Seas. Now the number of eiders has increased.

All Anseriformes are brood birds: chicks hatch covered with thick down and after a few hours they can swim, dive, run and search for food on their own. Geese feed only on vegetation, some ducks (mergansers, eiders) eat fish and various aquatic animals (molluscs, crustaceans, worms, etc.). Our river ducks eat mixed food from shallow waters.

The meat of these birds is tasty, good fluff and feathers. Therefore, people have long hunted them. Now we have completely banned hunting for swans and hunting geese and ducks in the winter. Some species of anseriformes have become so rare that hunting for them had to be completely banned. These species are included in the Red Book of the USSR: small, or tundra, swan; geese - mountain, beetle, sukhonos; red-breasted and barnacle geese and 5 species of ducks - crested sheath, scaled merganser, marble teal, mandarin duck and duck.

Anseriformes - a detachment of the class of birds, which is divided into 2 families: palameds and ducks. Palamedeas are large birds the size of a swan, with long legs, almost without membranes, with a short beak, similar to that of a chicken. At the bend of the wing, they have two sharp triangular spurs that help them defend themselves from predators. The skin and skeleton of palameds are rich in air cavities, so they fly well and soar for a long time in the air, resembling vultures of prey. Palamedeans are found on lakes and swamps in the tropics and subtropics of South America.

The large duck family is divided into 3 subfamilies. The subfamily of semi-footed geese includes one Australian-New Guinean species with long legs and claws adapted for climbing trees. The subfamily of goose includes swans and geese, of which there are 29 species in the world, while in the USSR there are 17. The subfamily of duck includes 112 species, of which 42 species are found in our country. Among the ducks, one can distinguish between ducks, diving and mergansers.

Anseriformes, or lamellar-billed (_la. Anseriformes) - a detachment of new-fawned birds, which, along with such familiar birds as geese, ducks, swans, also include more exotic families, such as the Palamedeans from South America. Anseriformes are a very common order and play an important role in the biosphere of the temperate latitudes of the Earth. Some species of Anseriformes are also of agricultural importance.

Characteristic

In the order of Anseriformes, birds of large and medium size are found. The largest representative of the order is the mute swan, weighing 13 kg. The smallest is a teal-whistle, which weighs about 200-300 g. As a rule, anseriformes have a weighty body and a relatively small head located on a long neck. With the exception of palamedes, the beak is wide and flat, and often has a hardness at the tip, making it easier to pull off foliage and plant material. On the sides, the edges of the beak are serrated and form a kind of sieve that allows you to filter edible particles from the water. They are especially developed in mergansers, which, thanks to these denticles, can hold caught fish in their beak.

Anseriformes are characterized by the webbing between the three forward-facing toes, which are important for movement in the water. They, however, almost disappeared in the palamedes and the semi-footed goose ("Anseranas semipalmata"). The plumage is waterproof and variegated in many species, especially in males. Birds devote a lot of time to plumage care. It is lubricated with a waterproof secretion secreted by special glands on the animal's skin, which are stimulated by the touch of the beak. During molting, in most species, old feathers fall out almost simultaneously and immediately. At this time, the birds are not able to fly, and to protect themselves from enemies, males show only a very discreet color. Thermal insulation is provided by a thick layer of down and subcutaneous fat.

Most Anseriformes are excellent flyers, they fly fast with frequent flaps of their wings. At the same time, the feathers on the wings vibrate, making a sound characteristic of each species. The representative of this family - the mountain goose ("Anser indicus") - the highest flying bird in the world. As migratory birds, many species cover distances of many thousands of kilometers. The wings of anseriformes are medium in size, pointed. On the ground, most Anseriformes, with the exception of geese and brants, do not walk very well, waddling from side to side. They are excellent swimmers and divers. Anseriformes spend about 3 minutes under water and dive to a depth of 40 meters. They move under water with their paws, some species also use wings.

Spreading

Basically, anseriformes live near water bodies, in particular near swamps and lakes, in river estuaries and in coastal regions. Many species spend most of their life on the high seas and return to land only to nest. Representatives of this order are distributed on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Most of the different species of anseriformes can be found in the tropics of South America, Africa and Australia.

Nutrition

Some anseriformes feed on animal food - fish, crustaceans, aquatic molluscs, etc. Most are looking for food on or near the water surface. There are, however, species that dive deeper for aquatic plants. Geese and palamedeans also feed on land, where they nibble on grass. They regularly swallow small stones, which in their muscular stomach help to grind food, and then are excreted along with the droppings.

Reproduction

Taxonomy

Anseriformes include three families:

* semi-footed geese ("Anseranatidae")

* duck ("Anatidae")

* palamedeas ("Anhimidae")

Anseriformes- large and medium-sized birds, less often smaller ones. The largest representative of the order in our fauna - the mute swan - reaches a weight of 13 kg, the smallest - a teal-whistle - 200-300 g. long neck, making it easier to get food from under the water. Legs are four-toed, of moderate length, slightly set back. The front three toes are relatively long, connected by the swimming membrane, the back one is short, located above the level of the front ones. The beak is usually flattened and wide, covered with a thin sensitive skin, turning at the apex into a hard corneous thickening, the so-called "marigold". The edges of the beak and mandible are with narrow transverse corneous plates, forming a filter apparatus, or are seated with horn teeth. Through the filtering apparatus, the birds pass the water captured along with the food into their mouth, and the cloves help to firmly hold the caught fish and other animals in the beak. The plumage is dense, dense, with a lot of down, evenly covering the body. Feathers without a side trunk. The color of the plumage is very diverse, often unequal in males and females. In addition to the color of the plumage, sexual dimorphism is also expressed in size: males are usually larger than females.

Wings at anseriformes medium-sized, pointed; the tail is short in most. The flight is fast, with frequent flaps of the wings; at the same time, the ends of their feathers, vibrating, emit sounds characteristic of each type. Some species can hardly fly, and one species - the Patagonian steamer duck - does not fly at all due to the strong reduction of the wings. On the ground, many anseriformes move poorly, waddle around, and only geese and geese can run quite fast. But anseriformes, as a rule, perfectly swim and dive, staying under water for up to 3.5 minutes and diving to a depth of 40 m. Under water they move with the help of their legs, but some also paddle with their wings. Diving species, when obtaining food, immerse the front part of the body and the elongated neck in water, reaching the bottom of the reservoir with their beak.

The life of the birds of this order is closely related to water. They inhabit a wide variety of marine and inland waters, in which they get food, or feed on their coasts. Many species inhabiting cold and temperate latitudes regularly make sometimes very long seasonal flights. Representatives of our fauna fly away to winter in Africa, to the south of Europe and Asia, to Australia, to North and South America. The most massive wintering grounds for our waterfowl are concentrated in South-Western Europe, North Africa, along the Caspian and Black Seas, in India, Central and Southern China.

Most species are monogamous: pairs are formed either for life, or only for the breeding season. For many, couples exist only during the mating period, and as soon as the female sits on the nest, the male leaves her and does not take any part in incubating eggs and driving the young. Males of some species (ducks) often mate with females of other pairs, and sometimes with females of other species, resulting in hybrids.

Nest anseriformes mostly in separate pairs, less often - in sparse colonies. Nests are most often located near water bodies in grass, in coastal thickets, on reed creases, sometimes on water, in hollows, in earthen holes or in depressions among rocks. The building material is varied, the building itself is simple, but inside it is abundantly lined with down, which the female pulls out from herself, and sometimes from the male. The number of eggs in a clutch fluctuates around different types from 2 to 15, but most have more than 5. Eggs are large, monochromatic, white or slightly greenish and buffy-white. Incubation lasts from 20 to 41 days, in the majority about 25 days.

Anseriformes belong to brood birds. Chicks hatch covered with thick fluff and after a few hours, as soon as they dry up, they are able to swim, dive, run and feed on their own, while being under the supervision of the female or both parents. In case of danger, the latter selflessly protect them. Chicks grow relatively slowly and begin to fly in medium-sized species at the age of 2-2.5 months, in large ones - 3.5 and even 4 months. In only a few species, juveniles reach the size and weight of adult birds, and also become sexually mature in the first year of life. For the majority, however, maturity occurs in the second and third years, and for some only in the fourth year of life. The representatives of the described detachment molt twice or once a year. In some species, it begins with a change in small feathers, in others, with a change in flight feathers. In most species, flight feathers fall out at the same time, and birds lose their ability to fly for 21 to 45 days until new wing feathers grow. Females molt during broods, while males in many species do not take part in caring for the offspring, as well as single females molt separately. At the same time, it is characteristic mass concentration molting birds in dense thickets on water bodies or in large open water areas. In the absence of reservoirs favorable for molting in the nesting area, birds migrate to other places, often many hundreds of kilometers away. These migrations in a number of regions take on the character of pronounced summer flights. On the territory of our country, mass accumulations of molting birds take place, in particular, in areas rich in water bodies of tundra and forest-tundra, where geese predominate, as well as in areas of the southeast of the European part of the former USSR with an extensive Volga delta, in lacustrine regions of Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan where ducks predominate among molting birds. The food of the Anseriformes is quite varied. Some of them feed exclusively on animals - fish, crustaceans, insects, bottom molluscs, etc., which are obtained by diving into the water.

For many, mixed foods are found in shallow waters. Finally, species such as geese and palamedeas feed exclusively on plant food on land, nibbling the most delicate parts of coastal and terrestrial vegetation with their beaks. In the fall, before flying away, birds become very fat: the subcutaneous layer of fat sometimes reaches 18% of their total body weight. Anseriformes are of great importance as a subject of fishing and amateur hunting. They provide valuable meat, high quality feathers and down, downy skins. A number of species are domesticated, which greatly increases the economic importance of the order. However, in this respect, Anseriformes are far from being fully used, since many of them are easily tamed. Anseriformes are obtained mainly with the help of a gun, but in many places various methods of mass capture are illegally used, undermining the natural reserves of these valuable birds. In general, the number of anseriformes in Lately catastrophically decreases across the globe. In order to protect the nests, wintering grounds and flyways of waterfowl, and primarily anseriformes, nature reserves have been organized in our country: Kyzyl-Agachsky in Azerbaijan, Hasan-Kuliysky in Turkmenistan, Astrakhan in the Volga delta, Chernomorsky in the mouth of the Dnieper, etc.

Anseriformes distributed on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. The most diverse species composition of birds of this order is in the tropical parts of South America, Africa and Australia. Anseriformes - very ancient group birds, which arose at the beginning of the Eocene, and perhaps even earlier - at the end of the Cretaceous. In any case, at the end of the Eocene period, Anseriformes already existed as an independent group. In the Oligocene, a number of genera were represented, which are still known. At the end of the Miocene, Anseriformes were distributed throughout all continents, with the exception of Australia. In the Pliocene, modern genera prevailed and even existed modern species- red-headed duck and shirokonosk. Anseriformes living in the Pleistocene were already similar to modern ones.

Anseriformes detachment is divided into two suborders: Palamedeans (Anhimae) and Lamellirostris (Lamellirostris). The first includes 3 species, the second - 142 species. Palamedeans are large, overweight birds that differ from birds of another suborder in a number of anatomical features. They inhabit the shores of shallow water bodies of South America. The Anhimidae are one family with two genera: Chauna with two species and Anhima with one species. Lamellar-billed geese are represented by one family of duck (Anatidae) with three subfamilies: half-footed geese (Anseranatinae) with one species from New Guinea and Australia; goose (Anserinae) with 29 widespread species of swans, geese and brants; duck (Anatinae) with 112 species of ducks and mergansers, characteristic of almost the entire globe.

Bird life from detachment Anseriformes closely related to water. These are birds of medium or large size, with an elongated neck and shortened legs shifted back. (fig. 227). This arrangement of the legs makes it easier to dive under the water for food. There are four toes on the legs, of which the front three are connected by a swimming membrane.

A characteristic feature of Anseriformes is the structure of their beak. It is wide, flattened, covered with a thin skin. Inside the upper part of the beak there are corneous plates serving; to filter out food. Anseriformes have dense rigid plumage and a thick layer of down, the coccygeal gland is well developed. Her secret makes the plumage waterproof. About 200 species of Anseriformes are known, many of which make seasonal migrations... These are swans, geese, ducks, etc.

Among the swans, the largest whooper swan (fig. 227, 3): its body weight can reach 13 kg, and its wingspan is up to 2.5 m. This beautiful and majestic bird is very careful and keeps away from the coast.

Ducks differ from swans in that the color of the plumage of males and females is different (in males it is more colorful). The most common type of ducks is mallard (fig. 227, 5). This is enough large bird, whose body weight can reach 2 kg, feeds in shallow water. The mallard is a migratory bird that leaves our water bodies late, almost before they are covered with ice.

One of the largest ducks - common eider (fig. 227, 6), whose body weight reaches 3 kg. Usually this species breeds on the sea coasts of Northern Europe, Asia and America and Ukraine. Material from the site

Geese — migratory birds nesting in uninhabited places near water bodies. They feed exclusively on plant foods. Widespread in many countries goose gray (fig. 227, 1).

Many species of Anseriformes are hunted for their tasty and nutritious meat. Man also uses the feathers and down of these birds. The mallard and the gray goose were domesticated, and man created many of their breeds.

Most birds are capable of flight, therefore they have a well-developed keel. Among them are Anseriformes - waterfowl with an elongated neck, shortened legs. On the legs, the front three toes are connected by a swimming membrane. The beak is wide and flat.

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