Swan goose
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Swan geese sleep around noon and midnight.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Swan goose
- Scientific name
- Anser cygnoides
- Japanese name
- サカツラガン
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Anser
It is a goose native to East Asia, and people have also tamed it and keep it as a domestic goose.
Its cheeks are reddish brown, like a face flushed from drinking, so its Japanese name means 'sake-faced goose'.
It is a very talkative bird that calls in a loud, ringing, hoarse voice.
How the Swan goose lives
They feed in the morning and evening, spending more time feeding in the evening. Near wetlands, they eat grasses, roots, seeds, and water plants. In late summer, they gather in groups while their feathers are replaced. In autumn, they fly south to the Yangtze River Basin in China.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Total length: about 90 cm多摩動物公園
- Active
- At dawn and duskUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Aquatic plants多摩動物公園
- Range
- East Asia多摩動物公園
- Conservation status in Japan
- Critically Endangered (CR)Assessed as Anser cygnoidMinistry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Swan goose has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- サカツラガン
- 简体中文
- 鸿雁
- 繁體中文
- 鴻鴈
- 한국어
- 개리
- Español
- Ánsar cisnal
- Français
- Oie cygnoïde
- Deutsch
- Schwanengans
- Português (Brasil)
- Ganso-africano
- Italiano
- Oca cignoide
- العربية
- إوز صيني
- Tiếng Việt
- Ngỗng thiên nga
- Русский
- Сухонос
- Türkçe
- Çin kazı
- ไทย
- ห่านเทาปากดำ
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — サカツラガンChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Anser cygnoidesChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Swan goose, look for this
- Look for their orange feet.
- You may see them bob their heads in response to birds in their group.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Swan goose
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Anatidae
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