Anser cygnoides

Both sexes are similar. However, the female bird is slightly smaller, has shorter wings, and the warty process at the base of the beak is not obvious. The adult bird is dark brown from the frontal base, the top of the head to the center of the nape, and there is a brown-white fine line between the frontal base and the beak, separating the beak and the forehead. The head, chin and throat are light brown, and there are two tan jaw lines at the base of the mouth cleft. Back, shoulder, waist, upper wing cover and tertiary flight feathers dark grayish-brown, feather margin is lighter or whiter, forming obvious white markings or horizontal lines. The tail cover is dark grayish-brown, but the longest tail cover is pure white, and the tail feathers are grayish-brown. The front and side of the neck are white, the lower front neck and chest are cinnamon, gradually fading backward, and the lower abdomen is all white. The undertail cover is also white, the flanks are dark brown, with brown-white p

Resident bird: China.
Breeding grounds: Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russian Federation (East Asia). Non-breeding areas: Japan, South Korea and North Korea.
Traveler: Turkmenistan. Seasonal uncertainty: Thailand.
Wandering: Lao People's Democratic Republic, Russian Federation (Central Asia Region) and Uzbekistan.
It is mainly found in lakes, ponds, rivers, swamps and their vicinity on open plains and plain grasslands, especially in areas with dense aquatic plants near lakes on plains, and sometimes in mountain plains and river valleys. In winter, they live in large lakes, reservoirs, beaches, estuaries and bays and their nearby grasslands and farmlands.

Swan Goose, with no subspecies, is a large waterfowl.

From late September to late October every year, a large number of swan geese begin to migrate from their breeding grounds to their wintering grounds, and some begin to migrate as early as early to mid-September. Migrations often involve large groups of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of individuals. From the end of October to the beginning of November 1993, a group of more than 500 migrating geese was seen in Baicheng area, Jilin Province. The migration is carried out gradually in batches, from late September through late October to early November. According to the observation in the western grassland of Jilin Province, it is often a batch of relocation and then a batch of relocation, and each batch of relocation and relocation is often related to the sudden cooling of the climate. When the cold wave comes, the geese that stay suddenly move away, and soon another group comes. The spring migration occurs from mid-March to late April and lasts about a month. However, the spring migration group is obviously smaller than the autumn, usually more than a dozen to dozens of individuals, as of April 1983, the most was seen in Hunchun 110 individuals.

Swan geese are fond of forming groups and often move in groups, especially during the migration season, often integrating tens, hundreds, or even thousands of large groups, even in the breeding season, it is common for 4-5 or 6-7 to rest and forage together. Good at swimming, flying is also strong, but the flight appears a little heavy. Vigilance is strong, action is extremely cautious and careful, at rest, there are often a few "whistle birds" standing in a higher place to watch, if someone approaches, then a high cry, and then fly, other birds also take off immediately. When flying, the neck is straight forward, the feet are attached to the abdomen, one after another, the arrangement is very neat, into the word "one" or "people" shape, the speed is slow, slowly forward. Flying while Shouting, the sound is loud, clear, single, but dragged longer, like 'hmm-hmm -' sound, can be heard several miles away.

Red geese mainly feed on the leaves and buds of various herbs, including terrestrial and aquatic plants, reeds, algae and other plant foods, and also eat a small amount of animal foods such as crustaceans and mollusks, especially during the breeding season. In winter, they often go to remote fields, wheat fields, and soybean fields to forage for crops. Foraging occurs in the evening and at night. Usually as soon as it gets dark, the group flies to the feeding ground, and returns to the lake or river in the early morning to rest and swim, and sometimes to rest on the grass or beach on the shore.

Swan geese breed in Siberia and northeast China. In China, it mainly breeds in Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Overwintering is found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the coastal provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong, occasionally in Taiwan, but also a few in Liaoning and Hebei Province; It is found in Altai Mountains in northern Xinjiang, Tianshan Mountains in western Xinjiang, Qaidam Basin in Qinghai, Hebei and Henan provinces during migration. Breeding season from April to June. In late March and early April, they moved to their breeding grounds in northeast China. Most of the pairs formed during migration and after entering the breeding ground, and some of them formed in the wintering ground. When observed in feeding conditions, the male first swims excitedly in front of the female, while the tail is upright, and repeatedly makes head immersion movements, similar to foraging movements. When mating, the male bird begins to open his wings and the female bird begins to sing. At the same time, both sexes stretch their necks, their wings are half open, and the male bird climbs onto the female's back to mate.

Geese often nest in pairs and breed. Nests are mostly built on marshes or reeds on the banks of grasslands and lakes, and some nests are built on the banks of rivers near mountains. Nesting sites are usually densely vegetated, remote and difficult to access, and nests are rarely built on open and exposed desert plains. The nest material is dry reed and hay, the center of the nest is concave, and the interior is filled with soft grass plants, hay and feather. Four to eight eggs are laid per litter, with 5-6 eggs being the majority. Eggs are milky white or pale yellow, 76-89 mm ×53-59 mm in size, and weigh an average of 130.5 g. The female incubates her eggs alone, and the male usually keeps watch near the nest. If there is an intruder, they often disguise a limp or a collapsed wing, pretend to be injured and lure the intruder away from the nest, and then sneak back to the nest, incubation period of 28 to 30 days.

After hatching, the chicks are led by their parents to swim in the water, or to rest and forage on the beach and grass of the lake. Spotting danger, one parent screams and escorts the bird to hide in nearby grass or swim to a distance. After the beginning of molting period, adult birds leave their young and molt in rare places such as lakes, beaches and riverbanks. The time is from mid-late June to mid-July, when the flight feathers are removed at almost the same time, and the ability to fly is lost within a certain period of time. The young reach sexual maturity in 2-3 years.

In 2012, it was estimated that the global population of swan geese was about 60,000-90,000 individuals. A total of 60,886 animals in 2004 and 61,178 in 2005 were counted in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In addition, it is estimated that the number of migrations in Korea is about 50-1,000, and the number of overwintering is about 50-1,000. The most recent coordinated survey of Yangtze wetlands in January 2011 found a total of 87,544 individuals and recommended an upward revision of the upper limit to estimate 90,000 mature individuals. However, this apparent increase is likely the result of better count coverage than the real increase in species population size (2012). Trend judgment: In 2001, there was a significant decline in the population of this species in parts of its breeding range in eastern Russia and Mongolia, as well as in wintering areas in China. Rapid decline in species numbers is suspected, consistent with levels of hunting and wetland conversion for agriculture and development, both threats occurring on breeding grounds and overwintering grounds. The increase in species estimates after the January 2011 survey is unlikely to represent an actual increase in species.

In 2020, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration issued the Notice on Regulating the Scope of Classification Management of Fasting Wild Animals, prohibiting breeding activities for the purpose of eating red geese, and guiding farmers to stop breeding except for special circumstances such as the retention of appropriate provenance. In August 2022, the Qinghai Provincial Forestry and Grass Bureau announced at the provincial bird protection and management press conference that the national second-class key protected wild animal Hongyan is a bird species with records but no video records in Qinghai.

Listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) 2016 ver3.1 - Vulnerable (VU).

It is listed in the second level of the List of National Key Protected Wild Animals.

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