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Pink-footed Goose
(Anser brachyrhynchus)
German name(s): "Kurzschnabelgans"
Size: 60-75 cm; wing span 1.35-1.7 m
Weight: 1.8-3.4 kg
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Pink-footed Geese are medium-sized geese with a long neck.
They have a dark-grey head, the colour of which gradually
changes down the neck to cinnamon to finely barred pale
grey-brown down the front, with dark barring down the
flanks. That barring is darker than the frosty grey-blue
hue of the back, rump and the edges of the wing coverts,
which are otherwise grey-brown. The flight feathers are
grey-blue with dark-grey outer halves.
The tail shows a pattern of white (at the base), grey
and again white (terminal band). The vent and undertail
coverts are also white.
They have a rather short, nearly triangular, pink bill with
a grey base and a dark-grey nail. As their name already
suggests, the legs and feet are pink.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See
Pink-footed Goose at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Pink-footed Goose is available
HERE
.
Pink-footed Geese are a migratory species.
Their breeding grounds are on Svalbard, Iceland and eastern
Greenland. They overwinter in western to north-western Europe.
In Europe Pink-footed Geese breed only on Svalbard. Their normal
winter range extends from the Danish coastline to parts of England
and Scotland and southward to the Benelux coastline.
Some individuals travel farther southwards in winter, to the Azores
and Canary Islands.
Pink-footed Geese breed on Arctic tundra and mountainsides,
including rocky slopes. During the winter they stay mainly in
coastal grassland areas.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
J. Pires reports spotting Pink-footed Geese
on Terceira Island, Azores, in November 2018.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this
page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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Near-lateral view of two Pink-footed Geese in flight, with a
Barnacle Goose
on the right
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]
Near-lateral view of two Pink-footed Geese banking to land;
note the prominently visible pink legs and feet
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]
Lateral view of a Pink-footed Goose in flight, bottom left, with a
Barnacle Goose
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]
Near-dorsal view of two Pink-footed Geese in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]
Dorsal view of two Pink-footed Geese in flight, centre and right, with a
Barnacle Goose
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.