Bean Goose

Overview

Bean Goose: Large goose, scaled brown upperparts, white underparts. Head, neck are dark brown. Black bill with yellow-orange saddle. Tail is dark with white undertail coverts. Legs and feet are orange. Feeds on plants, seeds, fruits. Strong direct flight on steady wing beats. Flies in V formation.

Range and Habitat

Bean Goose: Breeds in northern Eurasia, but is rare to casual spring visitor to western Alaska and the Bering Sea islands. Preferred habitats include tundra, wet grasslands, and flooded fields.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Bean Goose gets its English and scientific names from its habit in the past of grazing in bean field stubbles in winter. They show a preference for pastures which have high proportions of perennial ryegrass. They are intolerant of disturbance and prefer feeding fields with no other grazing livestock during the winter months and choose open areas with unobstructed sight lines both for feeding and for roosting. They were regarded as a common winter visitor to northern and eastern Britain during the first half of the 19th century. A widespread decline in numbers began in the 1860's and 1870's until in the early part of the 20th century only a few flocks remained. A group of bean geese is collectively known as a "pod" of bean geese.