Mystery Bird: Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus

Tail colouring looks a bit like an Egyptian Goose?

I agree with #1... but was writing to say "that bird looks remarkably similar to ones I photographed in South Africa!" (And I recently heard a friend say they saw one in North America). Not being a bird person, I am happily amazed at the ranges of some of these beauties.

Yeah, German birds :-)

Yes, it's an Egyptian Goose (German Nilgans), which are Neozoons in Germany. they are also in Parks in Wiesbaden and Mainz, and I saw a pair in the village I come from, which is between Wiesbaden and Frankfurt.

Wikipedia says:
This 63â73 cm long species breeds widely in Africa except in deserts and dense forests, and is locally abundant. They are found mostly in the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara. It has also been introduced elsewhere; Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany have self-sustaining feral populations, the former dating back to the 18th century, though only formally added to the British list in 1971. In Britain, it is found mainly in East Anglia, in parkland with lakes. It was officially declared a pest in the UK in 2009.[1]

This is a largely terrestrial species, which will also perch readily on trees and buildings. It swims well, and in flight looks heavy, more like a goose than a duck, hence the English name.[citation needed]

This species will nest in a large variety of situations, especially in holes in mature trees in parkland. Egyptian Geese usually pair for life.
Gosling
Three Egyptian Geese at Zürichhorn on Lake Zürich shore in Switzerland (February 2010)

The sexes of this striking species are identical in plumage, though the males average slightly larger. There is a fair amount of variation in plumage tone, with some birds greyer and others browner, but this is not sex or age related.

Egyptian geese typically eat seeds, leaves, grasses, and plant stems. Occasionally, they will eat locusts, worms, or other small animals.

Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, and appeared in much of their artwork.

The Egyptian Goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Its generic name looks like Greek á¼Î»ÏÏηξ + Ïήν = "fox-goose", referring to the color of its back, but with a Greek language error: the linguistically correct form would have been *Alopecchen or *Alopecochen.

Minus feathers, head, feet, and guts, it looks similar to what I had for dinner over the holidays at the end of last year: Some sort of a goose. No idea beyond that, as my ability to distinguish a bird from a brick depends on one of them being oblong.

Here are some more mystery birds for blf to enjoy.

You owe me a new screen and keyboard Bob!! Oh, and another cup of coffee.

Nilgans = Alopochen aegyptiacus

@mo, thank you but quoting Wikipedia seems rather crass

Does "looks like the hieroglyphs" count as a field mark?