The pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and recently Novaya Zemlya. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The name is often abbreviated in colloquial usage to "pinkfoot" (plural "pinkfeet"). Anser is the Latin for "goose", and brachyrhynchus comes from the ancient Greek brachus, meaning "short", and rhunchos, meaning "bill".

Description

left|thumb|The pink feet which give it its name

It is a medium-sized goose, long, the wingspan , and weighing . It has a short bill, bright pink in the middle with a black base and tip, similar in pattern to tundra bean goose but pink where that species is orange, and pink feet. The body is mid-grey-brown, the head and neck a richer, darker brown, the rump and vent white, and the tail grey with a broad white tip. The upper wing-coverts are of a somewhat similar pale bluish-grey as in the greylag goose, and the flight feathers blackish-grey.

Taxonomy

The species is most closely related to the larger taiga bean goose Anser fabalis, rather than the similarly-sized subspecies of the tundra bean goose A. serrirostris rossicus, with which it had earlier been linked. It produces a medley of high-pitched honking calls, being particularly vocal in flight, with large skeins being almost deafening.

Ecology

thumb|Eggs, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]

Nesting is often on cliffs close to glaciers to provide protection from mammalian predators (mainly Arctic fox), also on islets in lakes.

Three to five eggs are laid, with incubation lasting 25–28 days. Eggs measure 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) in length and 4.8–5.8 cm (1.9–2.3 in) in width.

On hatching, the goslings accompany the parents on foot to the nearest lake, where they fledge after about 56 days. Southbound migration is from mid-September to early October, and northbound from mid-April to early May.

The pink-footed goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

References

  • RSPB Birds by Name: Pink-footed Goose