Greylag Goose
Anser anser
Also known as: Graylag Goose, Domesticated Geese, Icelandic Greylag Goose, Naturalised Greylag Goose, North Scottish Greylag Goose
Habitat
Ground
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
3.3 kg
About This Species
Look for large grazing flocks on farmland, wet grassland and reservoir margins, where this heavy grey-brown goose feeds by walking and plucking grass much like domestic geese, to which it is ancestral. Flocks are noisiest in autumn and winter when migratory and resident birds mix, giving frequent honking calls in flight and on the ground. Breeding pairs nest near water in spring, after which family parties with goslings become a common sight on lakes and slow rivers.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Feeding and roosting flocks tolerate observation from a reasonable distance along paths and hides but will walk or fly off if approached too closely, particularly during the nesting season.
- In the United Kingdom and across the European Union this species is protected under wildlife protection legislation, though it is also subject to regulated management in some agricultural areas, so rules on disturbance and control can vary by country.
- Keeping dogs leashed near nesting or moulting birds, when geese are flightless and especially vulnerable, helps avoid unnecessary stress.
Seasonal Activity
4,642,704 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 3.3 kg
Photo
(c) Frans Vandewalle, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.