The Egyptian Goose.

This large goose-like bird is recognizable by its long pink legs, its partly tan plumage contrasting with its darker upperparts. The adult cannot be confused. The juvenile, duller, evokes a little a young Shelduck of Belon. The sexes are identical, however there is a strong individual variability. The head and neck are yellowish to beige, with a chocolate-brown patch around the eye and at the base of the beak. The crown is slightly mottled rufous-brown, a rufous-brown collar encircles the lower part of the neck. The upper mantle, breast and most of the rest of the underparts show a tan to greyish-yellow hue, paler on the flanks. The belly is whitish, and chocolate-brown spots of varying size mark the chest. Lower mantle and scapulars are usually brown, with greyish-brown shadings in some birds, russet-brown in others. The back, rump, uppertail coverts and tail are black. The white upperwing-coverts are edged by a dark line along the greater coverts. The primary flight feathers and rectrices are blackish, the secondaries green or metallic purple, the tertials partly reddish. The underside of the wings is white.
Juveniles have duller plumage than adults. In addition, the patches on the crown and the chest, the collar which marks the transition between the neck and the chest, are absent. Crown, nape and upperwing show shades of grey-brown.
It is not a very noisy bird but its conflicts and arguments are often punctuated by many cries from both partners. The male emits shrill whistles unlike the female which produces a shrill quack. The Egyptian Goose spends most of its time at the water's edge grooming itself. It frequents almost all the bodies of water in tropical Africa. It is found up to 4,000 meters in Ethiopia. As much as possible, it avoids heavily wooded areas. Its favorite places are freshwater lakes and all types of rivers. In Great Britain, it shows a clear preference for meadows and park landscapes

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