Barnacle Goose? NE England (1 Viewer)

[NeilF]

Could the Goose to the left of the Bar-headed Goose be a Barnacle Goose? At the time I dismissed it as another hybrid but on reflection maybe not. Apologies for the poor quality photo. Many thanks.

 

[fugl]

Hybrid I would say. A Barnacle would have black legs.

 

[stevethehydra]

Looks like a hybrid, probably Canada x something, but hard to tell exactly what from these photos... could easily be Canada x domestic (Greylag/Swan) goose, but being next to a Bar-headed and having what could be a tantalisingly Bar-headed-like head pattern does make me wonder if Canada x B-h is a possibility... it doesn't look all that much like any of these known Bar-headed hybrids though: http://birdhybrids.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Bar-headed Goose

Would be interesting to get more/closer photos of this bird! Also perhaps worth posting in the Flickr hybrid birds group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/hybridbirds/discuss/

 

[chris butterworth]

It looks more like a Greylag x Canada, but hybrids can be confusing unless you get good views. There's a good selection of photos here http://www.gobirding.eu/Photos/HybridGeese.php ( the first bird is definitely weird ).

 

[NeilF]

Many thanks for the replies, I'll keep a look out for it and try to obtain some better pictures, thanks again.

 

[stevethehydra]

Yeah, I wouldn't have thought of Bar-headed as a possible parent if there wasn't a Bar-headed next to it (emphasising the slight similarity in head pattern) - it's well within the appearance range of Canada x domestic goose.

 

[NeilF]

Managed a couple of slightly more helpful photo's this morning, dull orange coloured legs and always hangs out with the Bar-headed Goose.

 

[Nutcracker]

A typical Canalag (Canada × Greylag hybrid).

East Chevington or Hauxley?

 

[KGS]

A typical Canalag (Canada × Greylag hybrid).

East Chevington or Hauxley?

Looks nothing like any (of very many) Canada × Greylag I have ever seen. Dark breast should indicate that Barnacle is involved. My guess is Barnacle x Bar-headed

 

[NeilF]

A typical Canalag (Canada × Greylag hybrid).

East Chevington or Hauxley?

I've seen quite a few Canada/Greylag hybrids but this looked totally different, smaller, different head pattern, much more Barnacle than Canada.
(Castle Lake, Bishop Middleham, County Durham).

 

[stevethehydra]

The new photos make me even more convinced that it is part Bar-headed! Although the head pattern still could be a coincidence...

I can see why "typical Canalag" is a response to this photo, but it does look quite different from Canada x wild-colour Greylag hybrids. However Canada x domestic Greylag (which can often actually be 3-way hybrids, as many domestic "greylag" geese also have Swan Goose ancestry) are very variable, and could quite possibly look like this, at least in terms of plumage... size and structure is another thing though, while variable, a Canada x domestic goose is typically Canada-size or bigger (in weight if not necessarily height/length). This bird looks between Greylag and Bar-headed in size to me - possibly a bit big for a Bar-headed x Barnacle, but probably about right for Bar-headed x Canada?

edit to add: compare this Bar-headed x Barnacle: http://birdhybrids.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/bar-headed-goose-x-barnacle-goose.html
and this Bar-headed x Canada: http://birdhybrids.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/bar-headed-goose-x-canda-goose.html
- while there's only a drawing rather than a photo of the latter, and the neck pattern is different, it looks closer to me...

 

[NeilF]

Many thanks for everyone's input, an interesting but unidentifiable individual.