#0904 · 🐦 birds

Upland Goose

🇳🇱 Magelhaengans ·Chloephaga picta

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in the Netherlands (introduced)

7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The upland goose or Magellan Goose ( Chloephaga picta ) is a sheldgoose of the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. This bird is indigenous to the southern part of South America.

base stats

NL sightings 5iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 5,469iNaturalist observations
weight 3.2 kgadult, up to
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 5 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
5,469 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Weighs up to about 3.2 kg.
Scientifically named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 (237 years ago).
Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.

fact sheet

English: Upland Goose
Nederlands: Magelhaengans
scientific name: Chloephaga picta
class: Aves
order: Anseriformes
family: Anatidae
IUCN Red List: LC · least concern
in NL: introduced
sightings in NL: 5
sightings in Europe: 329
sightings worldwide: 5,469
GBIF records in NL: 306
weight: 3.2 kg
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

relatives· Anatidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 7117, Wikidata Q129036, GBIF 5232428, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.