Most studies regarding waterfowl hybridization have been geared toward ducks, likely because they’re frankly easier to work with than their larger, more foul-tempered (pun absolutely intended) goose relatives. The line drawn between when an organism is a totally distinct species, when it’s a subspecies, and when it’s just a moderately different individual of the same species, is somewhat subjective, and makes the matter more complex. This phylogenetic complexity and confusion is also due to the rapid evolution and hybridization of geese for millions of years, leading there to be some uncertainty as to whether there are hundreds of goose species, or a couple dozen with each having many quite similar subspecies that aren’t quite different enough to be classified as a separate species. Why All the Confusion With Geese? Several greylag geese in a flooded grassland.
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