Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis x Greylag Goose Anser anser hybrid
Considering how commmon both parent species are among British feral geese, this hybrid is surprisingly unusual.
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Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose hybrid, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 17th February 2004
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Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose hybrid (with Greylag Geese), Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 30th September 2004 2004
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Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose hybrid, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 22nd November 2004
On this visit the hybrid was accompanying a Greylag Goose and two goslings. The goslings looked much like Greylag goslings, but I initially assumed that it was a family party and that the goslings were the offspring of the hybrid and the Greylag. However Branta x Anser hybrids are not usually fertile, or at least rarely produce hybrids, so this is unlikely. More likely is that it adopted the goslings as often happens with geese.
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Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose hybrid (with presumed Greylag gosling), Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 14th June 2005
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Barnacle Goose x Greylag Goose hybrid, Holkham Park (Norfolk, UK), 13th February 2006
For comparison, here are photos of the parent species.
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Barnacle Goose, south of Brancaster (Norfolk, UK), 30th October 2007 and Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 1st April 2012
For more photos of these species follow the links below: