Anseriformes / Anatidae / Anser
Taiga Bean Goose
Anser fabalis · 豆雁
Introduction
A migratory goose species breeding in northern Europe and Asia, wintering further south. It diverged from the tundra bean goose approximately 2.5 million years ago, with secondary contact established around 60,000 years ago resulting in extensive gene flow. Recognized as a separate species by the International Ornithologists' Union and the American Ornithological Society since 2007, though some authorities still classify it collectively with the tundra bean goose.
Description
Length ranges from 68 to 90 cm (27–35 in), wingspan from 140 to 174 cm (55–69 in), and weight from 1.7–4 kg (3.7–8.8 lb). In the nominate subspecies, males average 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) and females average 2.84 kg (6.3 lb). The bill is black at the base and tip with an orange band across the middle; legs and feet are bright orange. Upper wing-coverts are dark brown with narrow white fringes to the feathers.
Identification
Distinguished from white-fronted and lesser white-fronted geese by narrow white fringes on the dark brown upper wing-coverts. Differs from the pink-footed goose, which has a short bill bright pink in the middle, pink feet, and paler, greyer upper wing-coverts. Voice is a loud honking. Very similar in size and bill structure to the tundra bean goose subspecies Anser serrirostris rossicus.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds in northern Europe and Asia; migratory, wintering further south in Europe and Asia. Three subspecies exist with complex variation; generally, size increases from north to south and west to east. The western subspecies A. f. fabalis migrates across Western, Central, and Eastern flyways. It is a rare winter visitor to Great Britain, with regular wintering flocks in the Yare Valley, Norfolk, and the Avon Valley between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Conservation
The subspecies A. f. fabalis is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).
Culture
The English and scientific names derive from its historical habit of grazing in bean field stubbles during winter.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Anser
Vocalizations
Subspecies (3)
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Anser fabalis fabalis
breeds taiga of Scandinavia to Ural Mountains; winters western Europe to far southwestern Asia
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
