Hybrid Geese (gobirding.eu)

Hybrid Geese

Geese hybridise readily, in captivity, among feral populations and among wild bird populations. Identifying hybrids is fraught with difficulties. Not only are they highly variable (as one of the examples below shows, even siblings are not alike) but they do not always simply show a mix of each parent species' features. Indeed there are instances of hybrids bearing a more striking resemblance to a third species than to either of their two parent species.

The following hybrid combinations are discussed below:

Pink-footed Goose x Tundra Bean Goose
Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose
Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose
Snow Goose x Barnacle Goose
Canada Goose x Greylag Goose
Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose
Canada Goose x Barnacle Goose
Barnacle (or Lesser Canada?) Goose x Lesser White-fronted Goose
Chinese Swan Goose x Bar-headed Goose
Barnacle Goose x Swan Goose
Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose
Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose
Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose
Egyptian Goose x Mallard

Possible Pink-footed Goose x Tundra Bean Goose

This bird may not be a hybrid - it may just be a Pink-footed Goose with orange legs and orange bill. However although Pink-footed Geese with orange legs are not unusual, Pink-footed Geese with orange on the bill are extremely unusual. As small numbers of Tundra Bean Geese over-winter with the Pink-footed Geese every year and occasionally remain well into the spring, it is highly probable that the two species do hybridise occasionally. As far as I know there are no known records of this hybrid combination however and we can only speculate about how they would appear. As the two species are very similar anyway, they are likely to be extremely difficult to identify with any degree of certainty.

This bird appeared identical to a Pink-footed Geese except that it had orange legs AND orange on the bill. Although the orange on the bill had a slight pinky tone and wasn't so distinct as on a Bean Goose, it was certainly orange. Among other things, the extensive white tip to the tail (shown in the right hand photo below) rules out the possibility of this being a Bean Goose. In several winters of studying tens of thousands of Pink-footed Geese, I have seen many orange-legged Pink-footed Geese but until now, never a genuinely orange-billed Pink-footed Goose (though some appear to show orange bills - see the Pink-footed Goose page). I believe there is a strong possibility that this bird is a hybrid though I cannot rule out the possibility that it is a pure Pink-footed Goose with unusual bare part colouration.


Pink-footed Goose with orange bill and legs or hybrid Pink-footed Goose x Tundra Bean Goose (with ordinary Pink-footed Geese), between Docking and Brancaster (Norfolk, UK), 17th November 2006.

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Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose

This hybrid has appeared among Norfolk's Pink-footed Goose flocks in each of the last five winters (2003-2007). Although often misidentified as a blue Snow Goose by optimistic observers, it is in fact a hybrid.

The identity of this hybrid has been the object of much debate but a confident consensus has been reached among many competent observers that it is Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose and it is regularly documented as such. The assumption that Pink-footed Goose is one of its parents is presumably based on the fact that it accompanies that species - I can see no other reason to even consider Pink-footed Goose. The non-white parts of the plumage lack the brown tones of Pink-footed Goose and the pattern of these feathers is different: the dark sub-terminal bar on the scapulars is more distinct and has more of a point at the centre. Surely if this bird was not with Pink-footed Geese no-one would even consider that species as a parent. The detail is much more akin to Emperor Goose than any of the grey geese.

A number of features suggest Snow or Ross's Goose involvement. The structure and especially the bill look good for these two (or Emperor Goose); the prominent white edges to the tertials and secondaries resemble those of blue phase Snow or Ross's Geese and while extensive white plumage can be a feature of some hybrids between two non-white species, it could equally be explained by Ross's or Snow Goose involvement. If Pink-footed Goose is a parent then the large size may favour Snow Goose over Ross's Goose, but the largest Ross's Geese are as large (including a first-winter bird that first arrived among the wintering Pink-feet in autumn 2001). The pink bill shows a dusky area towards the base which suggests Ross's Goose, but this could have come from the other parent. The size and shape of the bill is closest to Ross's Goose, though it often appeared slightly longer. The base of the bill was relatively straight, not as curved as in Snow Goose.

If we assume this bird is of wild origin, then the consensus identification of Ross' Goose x Pink-footed Goose is probably the most likely. However, with nothing to suggest Pink-footed Goose over any other non-white goose, this identification should be regarded as tentative at best. Unless I'm missing something, the evidence is certainly not overwhelming and the confidence in this identification that currently exists in the birding community is, in my opinion, misplaced.

Note that there are at least two remarkably similar birds present in Netherlands, differing in having a prominent dark spot behind the eye and more orangey-coloured legs. The identification of those birds has been discussed in detail on a Dutch forum, waarneming.nl (in a mixture of Dutch and English). I don't think a firm conclusion has been reached on those birds, but given their seemingly feral setting (I think) I would think that Pink-footed Goose is unlikely. If the consensus ID of the Norfolk bird is correct then my guess is that the Dutch birds are Ross's x Greylag (more likely in a feral setting and accounting for the orange legs).





Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose, S of Brancaster Staithe (Norfolk, UK), 30th November 2004


Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose, north of Docking (Norfolk, UK), 26th November 2007

Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose, S of Brancaster Staithe (Norfolk, UK), 8th November 2005	Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose, S of Brancaster (Norfolk, UK), 9th November 2005

Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose, between Burnham Market and Docking (Norfolk, UK), 12th November 2005

Possible Ross's Goose x Pink-footed Goose, south of Brancaster (Norfolk, UK), 2nd December 2006

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Presumed Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose

These two hybrids are among a flock of 13 feral Barnacle Geese and 2 feral Ross's Geese. The first four photos show one bird and the second four show the second bird.





Presumed Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrids, Snettisham (Norfolk, UK), 17th March 2009

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Presumed Snow Goose x Barnacle Goose

This hybrid has apparently been in with the feral Barnacle Geese for several years. The similarities between this bird and the presumed Ross's Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrids above are not surprising - perhaps the most obvious difference was the size, as this bird was obviously larger than the Barnacles whereas the birds above were a fraction smaller.




Presumed Snow Goose x Barnacle Goose hybrid, Buckenham (Norfolk, UK), 1st January 2010

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Canada Goose x Greylag Goose

This is the commonest hybrid pairing among feral geese, not surprising given that Canada Geese and Greylag Geese are the commonest species of feral geese in most areas.

Appearance is in some ways quite consistent, although precise details can vary even between siblings. They normally (always?) show a diffuse white cheek patch with a pale eye-ring and pale surround to the bill, a blackish-brown neck sock diffusely merging into the paler underparts and dull orangey-yellow legs.




Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 8th March 2008


Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 6th April 2009

Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose (with Greylag Goose), Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 24th June 2007

Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose (with Canada Geese), Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 20th September 2008

Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose, Bittering GP (Norfolk, UK), 17th December 2004

	The four individuals shown in these three photos were closely associating with each other and were presumed to be siblings. Nevertheless they are all slightly different. Two have all-dark bills (left), two have pale bills (above). One of the dark-billed birds has white speckling on the neck, the other doesn't; similarly one of the pale-billed birds has white speckling on the neck and the other doesn't.
Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Geese, Drift Reservoir (Cornwall, UK), 1st October 2005 - with the white speckling on the neck sock and possibly large rear ends the Greylag parent may have been domestic, but I am not sure. There were no domestic birds in the flock on this date.






Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose hybrids, Salthouse (Norfolk, UK), 28th October 2009 - there were at least 7 hybrids in this flock. I wonder if some of the duskier-cheeked individuals are second-generation hybrids, but I am not sure about that.

Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Geese, Bylaugh (Norfolk, UK), 6th September 2008

Presumed Canada Goose x Greylag Goose (with Greylag Goose), Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 4th August 2007. Probably the same bird as shown in the top two photos in this section.

One of the birds shown above (Swanton Morley, 8th March 2008) was sound recorded. Click on the loudspeaker icons to hear two recordings:

See below for some more hybrids which may be Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose...

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Possible Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose

The following three hybrids were all associating with Canada Geese and quite closely resembled typical Canada Goose x Greylag Goose hybrids. However they differed in a number of respects: the head showed more extensive white, although the white contained blotchy brown markings; the first two (especially the Flitcham bird) showed a pure white blaze at the base of the bill which extended up to the forehead and contrasted with the blotchier white elsewhere on the head; the Flitcham individual had bright orange legs and the Abberton one had bright pinky-orange legs.

There seems to be little doubt that they were the offspring of a mixed pairing between a Canada Goose and one of the grey Geese, but the exact parentage is unknown. The white blaze at the base of the bill and the bright orange legs suggest White-fronted Goose for the Flitcham bird in particular. A lone White-fronted Goose in the area was known to have bred with a Barnacle Goose one year (see below) and it is quite conceivable that the same individual bred with the more numerous Canada Geese in other years.

However there is also good evidence to suggest that Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose may show a very similar head pattern (and this could equally well explain the bright orange bare parts). I am now leaning more towards this as the likely identification for these three birds, although I am uncertain as there was nothing in the structure to suggest domestic birds. Canada Goose x White-fronted Goose perhaps remains a possibility for the Flitcham bird at least, but I am doubtful.

It is worth noting that Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose hybrids can appear also almost identical to Canada Goose x non-domestic Greylag Goose hybrids. One photo in an article from North America shows a family of Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose hybrids some of which show strong evidence of domestic ancestry while others appear just like ordinary Canada Goose x Greylag Goose hybrids (although even these show hints of the domestic birds' structure).



Possible Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose, Abbey Farm, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 1st October 2003

Possible Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 6th March 2004

Possible Canada Goose x domestic Greylag Goose, Abberton Reservoir (Essex, UK), 21st August 2004

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Swan Goose x Bar-headed Goose?

The following hybrid was with about 100 feral Greylag Geese (one domestic). No other species were with the flock, but the parentage is unlikely to involve Greylag Goose. The dark crown and back of the neck is typical of Swan Goose and as the photos above show, the white surround to the bill can be present with hybrids of that species. It lacked the bump at the base of the bill that is often found on domestic (Chinese) Swan Geese, but had the rather straight head/bill profile that's typical of wild-type birds of that species. It seems likely that Swan Goose was one of the parents, and although some of the features of domestic birds are absent, the likelihood must be that it was a domestic type.

There are no immediately obvious clues as to the second parent's identity. The bird was distinctly smaller than the accompanying Greylags and very short-necked, which suggests that a small species was involved, but none of the very small options seem to provide a satisfactory solution. The body feathering were paler than on the Greylags, with a slightly silvery sheen and this, together with the bill colour probably indicates Bar-headed Goose - the neck pattern may also be a feature that came from this parent as Bar-headed Goose hybrids often show this (juvenile Bar-headed Geese have a similar pattern).



Possible Swan Goose x Bar-headed Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 25th February 2007

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Canada Goose x Barnacle Goose

A well-known hybrid that can occur among both genuine wild and feral geese - the one below is feral.




Canada Goose x Barnacle Goose (with Barnacle Geese), Hickling Rushill Scrape (Norfolk, UK), 10th August 2009

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Possible Barnacle Goose x Swan Goose

I think it's fairly safe to assume that this is a hybrid between a Barnacle Goose and one of the grey geese (Anser sp.). The all-dark bill doesn't rule out Greylag as the second parent but together with the long bill and straight bill/head profile, this seems to point instead to Swan Goose. The bird was alone so judging size accurately was impossible, however the impression was of a fairly small (and short-necked) goose. Other Barnacle x Swan Goose hybrids have been notes as being larger, and the identity of this bird is far from certain.


Possible Barnacle Goose x Swan Goose, Welney (Norfolk, UK), 28th March 2009

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Presumed Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose

There can be little doubt that one of the parents of this hybrid is Barnacle Goose but the other parent is less certain. Greylag Goose seems the most likely option as it accompanies Greylag Geese and nothing in its appearance gives reason to challenge this assumption. In 2005 it appeared to be paired with a Greylag Goose and on a subsequent visit the two birds were looking after goslings. The goslings appeared to resemble Greylag Goose goslings but were presumably second-generation hybrids (Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose) x Greylag Goose. This was not proven however and there is a small chance that the hybrid adult had simply adopted the Greylag Goose goslings. Unfortunately they were not seen on subsequent visists.


Presumed Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 22nd November 2004	Presumed Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 14th June 2005

Presumed Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose with apparent second-generation hybrid gosling (x Greylag Goose), Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 14th June 2005	Greylag Goose with apparent second-generation hybrid gosling (Presumed Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose) x Greylag Goose, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 14th June 2005

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Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose

Barnacle Geese are common among feral geese flocks and hybrids involving Barnacle Goose are frequently encountered. White-fronted Goose is a much scarcer as a feral bird but some do occur, e.g. they were breeding at Cley (Norfolk, UK) for a number of years. A mixed pairing of Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose occurred at Raynham Lake (Norfolk, UK) a few years ago and were observed to be successful (per Andrew Bloomfield). A number of hybrid geese have been frequenting the area since then and at least two of these are presumed to be the offspring of this pairing.


Presumed Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose, Coxford (Norfolk, UK), 9th March 2004

Presumed Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose, Abbey Farm, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 15th January 2004	Presumed Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose, Coxford (Norfolk, UK), 13th March 2003

Presumed Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose, Abbey Farm, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 8th January 2008


Presumed Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose, Abbey Farm, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 17th February 2010

Presumed Barnacle Goose x White-fronted Goose, Abbey Farm, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 1st June 2007

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Barnacle Goose x Lesser White-fronted Goose

The identification of this tiny hybrid is uncertain, but there seem to be two clear contenders: Barnacle Goose x Lesser White-fronted Goose or Lesser Canada Goose x Lesser White-fronted Goose. I favour the former as the most likely solution - the bird differed from Barnacle x White-front hybrids mainly in having a shorter, stubbier bill and in its very tiny size.



Possible Barnacle Goose x Lesser White-fronted Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 27th October 2007

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Black Brant x Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Brent Geese of the American and east Siberian form nigricans (Black Brant) are being found among flocks of the nominate European form bernicla (Dark-bellied Brent Goose) with increasing regularity. It is not surprising therefore that hybrids between the two forms are now beginning to be identified as well.

Details and photos of some such hybrids appear on the Black Brant page.

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Egyptian Goose x Mallard

Quite an unusual combination I think. As Egyptian Geese are more closely related to the shelducks than true geese, photos of this hybrid mix appear on the Hybrid ducks page rather than here.

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Thanks to Joern Lehmhus for his valuable input on many of the hybrids shown on this page.

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