Hawaiian goose, or Nene
Branta sandvicensis (Vigors, 1833)
Anatidae; Anseriformes; Aves; Chordata
London Wetland Centre
July 2011
The mystery foot from the last post belongs to one of the Hawaiian geese resident at the London Wetland Centre. Unlike most other anseriforms (ducks, geese, swans, magpie goose, whistling-ducks, and screamers), it has semipalmate webbing, meaning the webbing between the toes does not extend all the way to the tips of the digits. Since the Hawaiian goose is terrestrial, spending little time in water, it has little use for fully-webbed feet. Reduced webbing allows the nene (pronounced 'neigh-neigh') to move more quickly over solid terrain, including burnt lava fields that are abundant in its native home of Hawaii.
Anyone know any other anseriforms with semipalmate feet?
1 comment:
Wow!I love the changing hues of his head, and though I can't see his foot in this photo, I assume that it is cute and adorable aesthetically speaking.
Thanks for sharing,
Cathy@cheap digitizing
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