The taiga bean goose (''Anser fabalis'') is a
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
that breeds in northern
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. This and the
tundra bean goose
The tundra bean goose (''Anser serrirostris'') is a goose that breeds in northern Siberia. This and the taiga bean goose are recognised as separate species by the American Ornithological Society and International Ornithologists' Union, but are co ...
are recognised as separate species by the
American Ornithological Society
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
and the
International Ornithologists' Union
The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...
, but are considered a single species by other authorities (collectively called bean goose). It is
migratory and winters further south in Europe and Asia. The taiga and tundra bean goose diverged about 2.5 million years ago and established secondary contact ca. 60,000 years ago, resulting in extensive gene flow.
Description
The length ranges from , wingspan from and weight from .
[ In the ]nominate subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
, males average and females average .[ The bill is black at the base and tip, with an orange band across the middle; the legs and feet are also bright orange.
The upper wing-coverts are dark brown, as in the ]white-fronted goose
The greater white-fronted goose (''Anser albifrons'') is a species of goose related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus''). It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill, in fact ''albifrons ...
(''Anser albifrons'') and the lesser white-fronted goose
The lesser white-fronted goose (''Anser erythropus'') is a goose closely related to the larger white-fronted goose (''A. albifrons''). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction sche ...
(''A. erythropus''), but differing from these in having narrow white fringes to the feathers.
The voice is a loud honking, higher pitched in the smaller subspecies.
The closely related pink-footed goose
The pink-footed goose (''Anser brachyrhynchus'') is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The nam ...
(''A. brachyrhynchus'') has the bill short, bright pink in the middle, and the feet also pink, the upper wing-coverts being nearly of the same bluish-grey as in the greylag goose
The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A ...
. In size and bill structure, it is very similar to ''Anser fabalis rossicus'', and in the past was often treated as a sixth subspecies of bean goose.
Taxonomy
The English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and scientific names
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
of the bean goose come from its habit in the past of grazing in bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
field stubbles in winter. ''Anser'' is the Latin for "goose", and ''fabalis'' is derived from the Latin
''faba'', a broad bean.
There are three subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
, with complex variation in body size and bill size and pattern; generally, size increases from north to south and from west to east.
;Taiga bean goose (''Anser fabalis'' sensu stricto) ( Latham, 1787)
* ''A. f. fabalis'' (Latham, 1787). Scandinavia east to the Urals. Large; bill long and narrow, with broad orange band. ''Anser fabalis fabalis'' is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Conventio ...
) applies.
* ''A. f. johanseni'' ( Delacour, 1951). West Siberian taiga. Large; bill long and narrow, with narrow orange band.
* ''A. f. middendorffii'' ( Severtzov, 1873). East Siberian taiga. Very large; bill long and stout, with narrow orange band.
Distribution
The taiga bean goose is a rare winter visitor to Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. There are two regular wintering flocks of taiga bean goose, in the Yare Valley
The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network.
The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the villag ...
, Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
and the Avon Valley, Scotland. A formerly regular flock in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
no longer occurs there.
The taiga bean geese ''Anser fabalis fabalis'' wintering in Europe are considered to migrate across three different flyways: Western, Central and Eastern; which has been confirmed by stable isotope analysis of their flight feathers.
The population of the Taiga Bean Geese has decreased by roughly 50% since the 1990s and is still declining. From the mid-1990s to 2009 alone, population size fell from an estimated 100,000 to 60,000. The cause of this population decline is due to hunting, primarily in Sweden & Denmark, with inadequate regulation regarding the protection of the Taiga Bean Geese.
References
Further reading
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External links
RSPB Birds by Name – Bean Goose
BirdGuides Bean Goose Page
Cyberbirding: Bean Goose pictures
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{{Authority control
taiga bean goose
The taiga bean goose (''Anser fabalis'') is a goose that breeds in northern Europe and Asia. This and the tundra bean goose are recognised as separate species by the American Ornithological Society and the International Ornithologists' Union, bu ...
Birds of Scandinavia
Birds of Russia
taiga bean goose
taiga bean goose