The taiga bean goose (Anser fabalis) is a species of goose that breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It is migratory and winters further south in Europe and Asia. This and the tundra bean goose were recognised as separate species by the International Ornithologists' Union and the American Ornithological Society from 2007, but are still considered a single species by some other authorities (collectively called bean goose), notably BirdLife International and the IUCN.

Description

The length ranges from , wingspan from and weight from .

The upper wing-coverts are dark brown, as in the white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) and the lesser white-fronted goose (A. erythropus), but differing from these in having narrow white fringes to the feathers. The voice is a loud honking.

Subspecies

There are three subspecies,|| 100px

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| A. f. middendorffii||Severtzov, 1873||Very large; bill long and stout, with narrow orange band.||East Siberian taiga, wintering in eastern China, Korea, and Japan. Anser fabalis fabalis is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

It is a rare winter visitor to Great Britain; there are two regular wintering flocks of taiga bean goose, in the Yare Valley, Norfolk and the Avon Valley between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. A formerly regular flock in Dumfries and Galloway no longer occurs there.

References

Further reading

  • RSPB Birds by Name – Bean Goose
  • BirdGuides Bean Goose Page
  • Cyberbirding: Bean Goose pictures