This pair of Canadas turned up in a roost of about 20,000 Pink-feet just south of Edinburgh, Scotland. Thinking from distant views that they may be Cackling Canadas, and knowing that Pinks might have dragged 'genuine' birds with them from Baffin Is/Greenland, I trawled the feeding areas until I manage to locate them in a field in a feeding flock of about 10,000 birds ! Quite some sight !
The bill structure/shape makes it clear that on a closer view that they are not Cackling - it is too elongate. However the birds are still small - equal or perhaps just a little smaller than a Pink-foot, so not comparable to most of the feral Canadas in Britain, which are big birds. From plumage patterns (pale upper breast), structure (short neck) and head shape I suspect parvipes, Lesser Canada Goose.
I know that are folk out there with a lot more experience of telling Canada Goose races apart ... so parvipes .. or something else?
The bill structure/shape makes it clear that on a closer view that they are not Cackling - it is too elongate. However the birds are still small - equal or perhaps just a little smaller than a Pink-foot, so not comparable to most of the feral Canadas in Britain, which are big birds. From plumage patterns (pale upper breast), structure (short neck) and head shape I suspect parvipes, Lesser Canada Goose.
I know that are folk out there with a lot more experience of telling Canada Goose races apart ... so parvipes .. or something else?
