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Bean Goose: Tundra or Taiga? East Yorkshire. UK. Nov 2011 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter garydayes
- Start date
Agree with James, bill and neck surely point towards taiga
Ronayne88
Seán Ronayne
I agree
phil baber
Clipped Wing
Agree also on Taiga. Rossicus is like Bewick's compared to Whooper in Bean Goose terms...
Lots of debate on this bird at the reserve today with several respected observers still adamant that it is a tundra. Bill shape being area of contention. Bird not seen today only a small amount of the goose flock present which included a pinkfoot and juv whitefront but no bean. Any more views?
Jono L
Well-known member
A few photos of Yare Taigas here:
http://birdingdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/3-bean-chilly.html
not as good as Gary's shots though!
Jono
http://birdingdad.blogspot.com/2009/12/3-bean-chilly.html
not as good as Gary's shots though!
Jono
Brett Richards
Well-known member
Looking at these photos, I am puzzled as to why anyone would think it is Tundra. What are their reasons for this?
Brett
Thanks Brett
They expressed concern that the bill was not heavy enough - to be fair everyone who has declared an opinion on here has gone for Taiga. I think that part of the problem is that you would expect it to be a Tundra at this location.
garydayes
Well-known member
Here's another photo of the bird giving a size comparrison with nearby Greylag.
Personally from watching the bird in the field and then looking at the photos and reading the Birding World artical in Volume 23 Number 3. Plate 1 on page 110 shows a bird that looks almost identical to the North Cave Wetlands bird and can't see any reason why our bird Isn't a Taiga.
Personally from watching the bird in the field and then looking at the photos and reading the Birding World artical in Volume 23 Number 3. Plate 1 on page 110 shows a bird that looks almost identical to the North Cave Wetlands bird and can't see any reason why our bird Isn't a Taiga.
Attachments
tittletattler
Well-known member
To be fair, Tundra can look like this. However, the last photo is a deal clincher as it shows that it is comparable in size to the Greylags. Absolutely fabalis.
tittletattler
Well-known member
Agreed; that is one hell of a neck.....
geoff dobbs
Hull Valley Birder
Bill length and amount of orange are not diagnostic features, as some male Tundras can have bills this length. Some Tundras can also show a slightly concave culmen, and some can look longer necked than others. So the onus is, I think, "prove it is not a Tundra", by far the commoner goose wintering in Holland and visiting Yorkshire.
Thw blown up photo in the hide seemd to exaggerate the size of the grinning patch, which I think is diagnostic, and one of the photos seemed to show a bit of a "step" between the culmen and the forehead.
From the photos here, the large size alongside Greylag, the obviously long neck, the
apparently longer narrower grinning patch, the reduced black on the nail, the flat chin, lacking the jowl often shown by Tundra, all point to Taiga, and then the amount of orange just tends support the ID
Thw blown up photo in the hide seemd to exaggerate the size of the grinning patch, which I think is diagnostic, and one of the photos seemed to show a bit of a "step" between the culmen and the forehead.
From the photos here, the large size alongside Greylag, the obviously long neck, the
apparently longer narrower grinning patch, the reduced black on the nail, the flat chin, lacking the jowl often shown by Tundra, all point to Taiga, and then the amount of orange just tends support the ID
