Domestic geese
Faced with a white goose in the wild, many novice birdwatchers in the UK or Europe will immediately think they've found a Snow Goose. In reality, the chances are they will have found a domestic goose, an escaped farmyard (barnyard) goose. As they are often not shown in field guides, domestic geese are also the source of problems for new birders in the US, but here it's often the more naturally-coloured birds that are mistaken for White-fronted Geese.
Many domestic geese are descendents of Greylag Goose Anser anser, but often they are wholly or partially white, have a larger, brighter orange bill and their rear end is abnormally large. Some may also be descended from a Chinese species, Swan Goose Anser cygnoides. Such birds are more likely to show a pronounced bulge on the forehead and, if they're not white, the rear of the neck and head is distinctly darker than the front and sides.
In the wild, domestic geese breed readily with wild geese belonging to the same species and the variation in appearance becomes even wider. They may also hybridise with completely different species, especially Canada Goose.
Leucism (white or pale plumage) does occur naturally in wild birds, including Greylag Geese, so not every white, pale or piebald Greylag Goose is necessarily of domestic origin. Equally, domestic geese may be so similar to their wild ancestors that they are indistinguishable.
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Pentney, 18-Nov-06") |
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domestic Goose (Swan Goose x Greylag Goose), Pentney Lakes (Norfolk, UK), 1st January 2005
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domestic Greylag Goose, Pentney Lakes (Norfolk, UK), 18th November 2006
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%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 23-Feb-08") |
%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 23-Feb-08") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, (Norfolk, UK), 23rd February 2008
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%20L.JPG "Chinese Swan Goose, Abberton Reservoir, 21-Aug-04") |
%20L.JPG "Chinese Swan Goose, Abberton Reservoir, 21-Aug-04") |
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domestic Swan Goose, Abberton Reservoir (Essex, UK), 17th March 2004
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%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic goose, Graffham Water, 24-Sep-11") |
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domestic Greylag Geese, Graffham Water (Cambridgeshire, UK), 24th September 2011 - the grey birds in the lower photos also show signs of Swan Goose ancestry
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Burnham Norton, 29-Apr-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Burnham Norton, 29-Apr-11") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Burnham Norton (Norfolk, UK), 24th September 2011
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Wroxham Broad, 5-Feb-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Wroxham Broad, 5-Feb-11") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Wroxham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 24th September 2011
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Whitlingham CP, 1-Jul-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Whitlingham CP, 1-Jul-11") |
.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Whitlingham CP, 1-Jul-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Whitlingham CP, 1-Jul-11") |
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domestic Greylag Geese, Whitlingham CP (Norfolk, UK), 1st July 2011
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Whitlingham CP, 19-Jun-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Whitlingham CP, 19-Jun-11") |
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domestic Greylag Geese, Whitlingham CP (Norfolk, UK), 19th June 2011 - the right hand bird in the right photo is a domestic goose but the full parentage is uncertain (but includes Swan Goose) - more photos of this bird are towards the bottom of this page
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 14-Jul-07") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 17th April 2007
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domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 14th July 2007
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domestic Swan Goose (with White-fronted Goose or hybrid in front), Neary Lagoon (California, USA), 1st May 2005
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domestic Greylag Goose (with normal Greylag Geese), Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 13th January 2007
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 6-Apr-07") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 18-Mar-05") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 6th April 2007
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domestic Greylag Goose (with normal Greylag Goose behind), Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 18th March 2005
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Caerlaverock, 29-Dec-05") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Caerlaverock (Dumfries & Galloway, UK), 29th December 2005
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domestic Greylag Goose (with normal Greylag Goose behind), Tattersett (Norfolk, UK), 28th July 2004
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Abberton Reservoir, 21-Aug-04") |
,%20Holkham%20Park,%2017-Feb-04%20(A2)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose, Holkham, 17-Feb-04") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Abberton Reservoir (Essex, UK), 21st August 2004
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domestic (or just leucistic) Greylag Goose, Holkham Park, (Norfolk, UK), 17th February 2004 (
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,%20Holkham%20Park,%2022-Nov-04%20(A3)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose, Holkham, 22-Nov-04") |
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domestic (or just leucistic) Greylag Goose, Holkham Park, (Norfolk, UK), 22nd November 2004
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,%20Coxford,%202-Apr-04%20(B1)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose (leucistic), Coxford, 02-Apr-04") |
,%20Coxford,%202-Apr-04%20(B3)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose (leucistic), Coxford, 02-Apr-04") |
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domestic (or just leucistic) Greylag Goose, Coxford (Norfolk, UK), 2nd April 2004
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,%20Coxford,%202-Apr-0%20(4)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose (white belly), Coxford, 02-Apr-04") |
,%20Bittering%20GP,%2017-Jan-04%20(B)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose (white belly), Bittering, 17-Jan-04") |
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Greylag Goose showing white belly patch and white primaries, Coxford (Norfolk, UK), 2nd April 2004 |
Greylag Goose showing white belly patch and white primaries, Bittering GP (Norfolk, UK), 17th January 2004 |
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Greylag Geese with white patches like this are usually assumed to have domestic ancestry, but this may not always be the case. Pink-footed Geese, which are not domesticated, frequently exhibit very similar examples of leucism and there is no reason to think that feral or wild Greylag Geese would not do so too.
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%20L.JPG "domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 4-Nov-07") |
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domestic Greylag Goose, Burnham Overy (Norfolk, UK), 4th February 2012 |
domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 4th November 2007 |
Sometimes it is not easy to decide if the ancestors of a domestic goose are Greylag Goose or Swan Goose. Often this is probably because they have both species in their ancestry. This is probably the case with the following individuals:
,%20Abberton%20Reservoir,%2021-Aug-04%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose x Chinese Swan Goose, Abberton, 21-Aug-04") |
,%20Abberton%20Reservoir,%2021-Aug-04%20(2)%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose x Chinese Swan Goose, Abberton, 21-Aug-04") |
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presumed Greylag Goose x domestic Chinese Swan Goose, Abberton Reservoir (Essex, UK), 21st August 2004
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%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose x Chinese Swan Goose, Whitlingham Broad, 1-Jan-10") |
%20L.JPG "Greylag Goose x Chinese Swan Goose, Whitlingham Broad, 1-Jan-10") |
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probable Greylag Goose x domestic Chinese Swan Goose, Whitlingham Broad (Norfolk, UK), 1st January 2010
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%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 5-Feb-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 5-Feb-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 5-Feb-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 5-Feb-11") |
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domestic goose, Whitlingham CP (Norfolk, UK), 5th February 2011 - this bird appears to predominantly domestic Swan Goose but there is evidence of another species; although that other species may just be Greylag Goose, as with other domestic geese, several features of this bird seem atypical and it is possible that it is a hybrid between a domestic goose and a different species
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%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 19-Jun-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 19-Jun-11") |
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domestic geese, Whitlingham CP (Norfolk, UK), 19th June 2011 - three birds that all appear to have both Swan Goose and Greylag Goose genes
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%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 1-Jul-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 1-Jul-11") |
%20L.JPG "domestic Goose, Whitlingham, 1-Jul-11") |
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domestic geese, Whitlingham CP (Norfolk, UK), 1st Juy 2011 - the same birds again
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%20T.JPG "Greylag Geese")
%20T.JPG "Snow Goose")
%20T.JPG "Hybrid domestic greylag Goose x Canada Goose")
%20T.JPG "Eurasian White-fronted Goose")
(9)%20T.JPG "Mute Swan x goose sp. hybrid")
%20T.JPG "Domestic Mallard")