Pink-footed Goose

Overview

Pink-footed Goose: Short-necked goose with blue gray mantle and wing coverts, white belly, dark brown head, neck. Pale feather tips produce barring on flanks and upperparts. Pink legs and feet. Bill is pink with a brown tip and base. Swift direct flight with strong wing beats. Flies in V formation.

Range and Habitat

Pink-footed Goose: Native of Greenland found mainly in open tundra and rocky country. Rare accidental to Newfoundland and northern Altantic Coast.

INTERESTING FACTS

In 1951, Sir Peter Scott and his team made an expedition to Iceland to seek the breeding grounds of the Pink-footed Goose, which they were successful in discovering. The main threat to Pink-footed Geese is the destruction of breeding habitat, particularly proposed hydroelectric schemes in Iceland which may flood large areas used for breeding, feeding and molting. They are more susceptible to disturbance than Greylag Geese and it is interesting that populations in these areas declined during the first half of the 20th century due to increased disturbance and wildfowling but increased significantly when the areas in question became nature reserves. A group of geese has many collective nouns, including a "blizzard", "chevron", "knot", "plump", and "string" of geese.