One morning at the Malibala hide in the Mkuze Game Reserve the peace was broken by a pair of Egyptian geese. Up until that time, they had been the only geese at the waterhole and all had been quiet. As soon as a wandering pair of Egyptian geese flew towards the waterhole, the pair on the ground started to hiss and honk.

“Birds will give you a window, if you allow them. They will show you secrets from another world – fresh vision that, though it is avian, can accompany you home and alter your life. They will do this for you even if you don’t know their names– though such knowing is a thoughtful gesture. They will do this for you if you watch them.”― Lyanda Lynn Haupt

The plumage of both sexes Egyptian geese are identical but the males are usually larger. Their plumage varies greatly in tone, with some birds greyer and others browner. This plumage tone variation is not thought to be sex- or age-related.

Egyptian geese are very vocal, and have a repertoire of snarls, grunts, honks, and hisses. Both sexes hiss in alarm and honk when taking flight, but only males snarl and only females grunt.

Male Egyptian geese fight each other to protect their territory and their females. They are monogamous, so have one mate for life. Despite their territorial imperative, Egyptian geese are known to congregate in large flocks outside breeding season in areas with enough grazing. We have seen this spectacle along the Chobe river. At the waterholes there was usually one resident pair, suggesting that there was not enough food for more than one pair or that the pair were breeding.

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” ~ Bernice Johnson Reagon

Both sexes are aggressively territorial towards their own species when breeding. Egyptian Geese breed just once each year and lay up to eight eggs. The majority breed in the spring or at the end of the dry season. The breeding season can be anytime from July to March, depending on the area.

“It is not the strength of body that counts but the strength of spirit.” ~JRR Tolkien

When talking about birds fighting, we need to differentiate fighting among individuals of the same species from other aggressive interactions. The latter could include the hunting and killing of other birds as seen with many raptor species.

Direct physical combat between individuals of the same species is not common. Birds have ways to “fight” using ritualised signals and behaviours so that more often than not they can avoid a potentially costly physical fight.

On this particular morning, the early ritualised threats quickly gave way to full on physical fighting. The two males were using the chests to push their opponent around. When that was not enough they started to bite each other. They seldom use their webbed feet in a fight as a raptor would do. Rather they need their feet to find purchase on the ground so they push their opponent.

The fights can get aggressive with both males trying to bite the other on the neck and back. They also hit each other with their wings. Turtle and Laughing doves, and pigeons are often seen slapping each other with their wings in a violent display called “wing fighting”, especially around food.

“Better to fight for something than live for nothing.” ~ George S. Patton

Fighting can be a dangerous time for the combatants. They become so focussed on fighting each other and they are not aware of what is around them. Egyptian geese need to be on the look-out for leopards, lions, cheetahs, hyaenas, and crocodiles which will attack them given half a chance. Raptors such as Black sparrowhawks, African fish-eagles and Wahlberg’s eagles are known to feed on Egyptian geese.

The songs of birds, some of which are wonderful to listen to, are the ultimate signal (usually males to other male birds) of the singer’s territorial imperative, and any intrusions into it will be dealt with harshly. If one male is foolish enough to ignore the message of territoriality from the song of another and violates the space of the singer, then behaviours may quickly escalate. If the singing doesn’t do the trick, the next step may be the communication of aggression through a specific ritualised behaviour. If that does not deter the intruder then the behaviour is likely to get physical.

The waterhole’sresident male Egyptian goose, spurred on by his female, decided the intruder needed to be taught a lesson. So the fight went into the second round.

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” ~ Margaret Thatcher

If the songs and rituals aren’t enough to stop two aggressive individuals from challenging each other then, beak, claw and wings are needed. With Egyptian geese, the threat posture is shown by an extended neck and hissing. Threatened birds mostly avoided the opponent, with only one in forty encounters resulted in a physical fight.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill

When it comes to winning bird feuds, researchers have determined that beaks and build are the best predictors of who wins the battle.

Egyptian geese mostly eat seeds, leaves, grasses and plant stems, which is why they remain close to waterholes or wetlands. Occasionally, they will eat locusts, worms, or other small invertebrates.

“Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning”. ~ The Art of War by Sun Tzu 

Egyptian geese moult annually, migrating to a safe wetland to shed their flight feathers. The moult period lasts about 3–4 weeks, during which time the geese are unable to fly. We have seen a huge flock of Egyptian geese unable to fly next to the Chobe river. When trying to get away from our boat, the flock effectively did butterfly strokes with their wings to propel themselves across the water.

Egyptian geese are beautiful birds but in South African urban areas they can be a pest and can be very noisy. Out in the bush they are not so common and given some quiet time at a waterhole you may be fortunate enough is see some fascinating behaviour from them.

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ~ Anais Nin

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike