My Ethiopian acquaintance and I rented a boat and embarked on a trip on Lake Awassa, one of Ethiopia's largest lakes and famous for its many birds. One of the most eye-catching birds is the Spur-winged goose, a strange bird, as is already visible in the picture. It is related to the geese but no 'real' goose. It is actually related to the shelducks just as much (or as little). The male can weigh up to six kilograms and have a wingspan of up to two meters. This makes it Africa's largest sea-bird and one of the largest Anseriformes birds in the world. The plumage is predominantly black, but with a white face and long, fleshy legs. Like the South American Screamers, they have powerful spurs on the bend of the wings that they make use of when ending up in conflicts with other birds. The male has a red knob on the forehead that grows into a large red fleshy party, which in some cases resembles an enlarged cock's crest. It is also the males who are the most aggressive and who end up in veritable battles with each other. In spite of its size, the Spur-winged goose has often been saved from hunting because it is often poisonous to eat. This is due to its diet, which often contains poisonous beetles from the Meloidae family ('blister beetles').