I hiked at the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine in January 2023. There I saw a big bird walking in front of me. I followed it for a while. It kept walking in front of me and was not scared of me at all. Later, I searched online and found out it was an Egyptian goose. It is native to Egypt and frequently featured in ancient Egyptian art. That is why they are called Egyptian geese. These unique birds are a cross of geese and ducks and have both of their characteristics.
Egyptian goose has one distinctive feature, the "mask" around its eye area. They walk around to find their food on the ground. Their diet includes grasses, leaves, plant stems, locusts, and worms. They help disperse seeds through their droppings.
Fortunately, there's no threat to the extinction of the Egyptian goose just yet. They are not native to North America. Some people may think they are an invasive species. They may become aggressive if they are threatened. They are highly adaptive to their surroundings and do well in many settings. I wonder how they first settled here.
