# Swan goose (*Anser cygnoides*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/swan-goose  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The swan goose (Anser cygnoides) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized, migratory herbivore of wetland habitats, with a terrestrial lifestyle and an adult body mass of 3.475 kg. The swan goose lays one clutch per year with a clutch size of 5.5, and its eggs incubate for 29 days. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has a geographic range of 2,166,000 km².

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 3.15 kg – 3.54 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.65 m – 1.85 m |
| Lifespan | 31 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 29 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5.5 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Anseriformes
- family: Anatidae
- genus: Anser
- species: *Anser cygnoides* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Anas cygnoid*, *Anas cygnoides*, *Anser cygnoid*, *Anser cygnoides ferus*, *Cycnopsis cycnoides*, *Cygnopsis cygnoid*, *Cygnopsis cygnoides*

## Common questions

### Is the swan goose endangered?

Yes. The swan goose is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How heavy is a swan goose?

An adult Swan goose weighs 3.475 kg, with reported values from 3.15 to 3.538 kg.

### What is the wingspan of a swan goose?

The swan goose has a wingspan of 1.75 m, with reported values from 1.65 to 1.85 m.

### What does the swan goose eat?

The swan goose is a herbivore.

### How long does a swan goose live?

The swan goose has a lifespan of 31 years.

### How many eggs does a swan goose lay?

The swan goose has a clutch size of 5.5 and lays one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 29 days.

### What kind of animal is the swan goose?

The swan goose is a migratory bird in the waterfowl subgroup, part of the family Anatidae and the genus Anser.

### Who named the swan goose?

The swan goose was named Anser cygnoides by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Swan goose (Anser cygnoides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/swan-goose