Pink-footed Goose x Tundra Bean Goose hybrid

Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus x Tundra Bean Goose Anser serrirostris hybrid

Given the number of Tundra Bean Geese that find themselves in among wintering Pink-footed Goose flocks, you might expect these two species to hybridise very commonly. However they are rarely reported. Is this because they are difficult to detect (and even harder to prove) or are they genuinely rare?

This is a candidate, though I am by no means sure.

Although it is sometimes said that Pink-footed Geese with orange legs are hybrids, I think the evidence for this is lacking (so far as I know). Orange-legged Pink-feet turn up frequently and most of them resemble Pink-footed Goose in every other respect, so I do not think they are likely to be hybrids, even second or subsequent generation hybrids.

What is more unusual for pure Pink-footed Goose is orange tones on the bill. The bill can look orangey when covered in a thin layer of mud, and some birds do have a slight orangey tone to the pink. But despite looking at a lot of Pink-footed Geese I have never seen a bird with a clearly orange bill, except for this one. Admittedly it wasn't as orange as on a Bean Goose, but clearly more orange than pink. It also had bright orange legs, but showed no other clear evidence of Bean Goose involvement (and some features, for example the broad white tip to the tail, seem to rule out pure Bean Goose).

Some regular goose-watchers have looked at this and advised me that they feel it is most likely an odd Pink-footed Goose, and they may well be right. For me the possibility of it being a hybrid remains, although I am by no means claiming it was one. Looking back at the photos now, 7 years after the event, I wonder if the very blunt rounded tip to the bill is a bit odd for pure Pink-footed Goose. Anyway, I'm still not claiming it as a hybrid, but I think it's worth documenting as a candidate for such.

possible Pink-footed Goose x Tundra Bean Goose hybrid, or perhaps just a Pink-footed Goose (with Pink-footed Geese), between Docking and Brancaster (Norfolk, UK), 17th November 2006

This is a captive bird in a private collection that held various forms of Bean Goose and Pink-footed Geese. The collection owner informed me that this one was a hybrid between a Pink-footed Goose and a 'Sushkin's' Tundra Bean Goose.

captive Pink-footed Goose x 'Sushkin's' Tundra Bean Goose hybrid, private collection at Wereham (Norfolk, UK), 5th May 2017

For comparison, here are photos of the parent species.

Pink-footed Goose, between Docking and Brancaster (Norfolk, UK), 16th November 2006 and Tundra Bean Geese, Burnham Overy (Norfolk, UK), 4th February 2012

For more photos of these species follow the links below: