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A swan goose with a long two-toned neck and a black bill walking near water.
Photo: UrLunkwill, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

Swan Goose

Anser cygnoides

An endangered long-necked goose of eastern Asia that migrates thousands of kilometers and is the ancestor of the Chinese domestic goose.

🦆 Waterfowl
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About the Swan Goose

Swan geese spend summers breeding where Russia, Mongolia and China meet, then fly 2,500 to 3,000 km south to spend the winter along the Yangtze River in China. They eat grasses, roots, seeds and water plants. Swan geese are very talkative, with deep honking calls. A pair lays 5 or 6 eggs, which hatch in 28 to 34 days.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Anser cygnoides[1]
Size
81 to 94 cm (32 to 37 inches) long, with a wingspan of 160 to 185 cm.[1]
Weight
About 3.15 kg (7 pounds) on average.[1]
Lifespan
Domestic birds average about 20 years.[1]
Diet
Herbivore. Grasses, roots, seeds and water plants.[1]
Where it lives
Eastern Asia. Breeds near the Russia-Mongolia-China border and winters along China's Yangtze River.[1]
Group life
Very social. Pairs form during the breeding season.[1]
Babies
5 or 6 eggs, incubated for 28 to 34 days. Young can fly at about 8 weeks.[1]
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2023).[2]

Fun facts

  • People have kept swan geese as farm birds for more than 3,000 years.[1]
  • Each migration covers about 2,500 to 3,000 km (1,550 to 1,850 miles).[1]
  • Swan geese have a black fleshy knob at the base of their bills.[1]

Vocabulary

migrate
To travel from one region to another as the seasons change.
domesticated
Tamed and raised by people over many generations.
waterfowl
Birds such as ducks, geese and swans that live on or near water.
floodplain
Flat land next to a river that floods during the rainy season.
endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces a very high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. “Anser cygnoides (swan goose).” https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anser_cygnoides/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Anser cygnoid (Swan Goose).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679869/228564177 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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