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Bean Goose - Netherlands Gelderland - 2015-12-29 (1 Viewer)

Indobirder

Well-known member
Hi,

Is is possible to tell from these pictures whether this is a Taiga or Tundra Bean Goose? or am I way off track here?
Location: Nuldernauw (near Nijkerk)

TIA :t:
 

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Wikipedia seems to show the same sizes for both species?! I initially identified it as Tundra based on the amount of orange on the bill.

Tundra does seem to be the more likely occurring species too...
 
I'd suggest tundra based on bill shape. In the second image the bill appears short and stubby. AFAIK, you can't separate them with certainty based on amount of orange, unless perhaps when you have a really full wedge of it (=taiga). It's suggested that taiga appears larger but this has to be difficult to judge in most cases. Taiga generally seems "long - necked": if anything, this seems short - necked
 
A (family) group of Taiga Bean Geese in a group of Tundra Beans averages distinctly larger, longer-necked, longer-billed, and more orange-billed, but all these things are very difficult to assess on a single bird. Tundra Bean Geese with fully orange bills are not extremely rare, so in the Netherlands where Taiga Been Geese have become quite rare, even a large orange-billed bird is more likely to be a Tundra Bean Goose than a Taiga Bean Goose. To complicate matters further, in the general area where these birds have been seen you may come across escaped/feral Taiga Bean Geese that have been used to lure in other geese for colour-ringing.

Lutzen Portengen
 
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