Bean Goose

The Bean Goose is a large, richly brown-toned grey goose with a dark head and neck, a long bill patterned in black and orange, and orange legs. It is a variable species, traditionally split into two recognizable forms (often treated as separate species): the Taiga Bean Goose, which is longer-necked and longer-billed and breeds in forested wetlands, and the Tundra Bean Goose, which is shorter-necked and stockier and breeds farther north on open tundra.

Both forms share the same overall dark-brown plumage and orange bill-and-leg combination that distinguishes them from other grey geese.

Key field marks

• Dark brown head and neck, darker than the body
• Long bill patterned black at the base and tip with an orange band in the middle
• Orange legs and feet
• Overall warm brown plumage tone, lacking pale grey forewing patches

Similar species

• Pink-footed Goose: smaller, pink (not orange) legs and bill band, smaller and darker head
• Greylag Goose: paler grey overall with an all-orange bill and no dark head contrast

The combination of orange legs with a partly orange, partly black bill separates Bean Geese from both Pink-footed and Greylag Geese.

Range and habitat

Bean Geese breed across a broad swath of northern Eurasia, from Scandinavia to Siberia, with taiga-breeding birds nesting in forest bogs and wetlands and tundra-breeding birds nesting on open Arctic tundra farther north.

Migration

The species migrates south to winter in temperate Europe and Asia, including parts of Britain, the Low Countries, Germany, and eastern Asia, where flocks favor wet grasslands, farmland, and floodplains.

Behavior

Bean Geese are generally wary and form flocks, though often smaller and less dense than those of some other grey geese, frequently mixing with other goose species on wintering grounds.

Voice

The call is a deep, nasal "ung-unk" or "kayak-kayak," lower-pitched than the Pink-footed Goose's call.

Feeding

They graze on grasses and sedges and, on migration and in winter, feed extensively on agricultural stubble, waste grain, and root crops.

Nesting and breeding

Nests are ground scrapes lined with down, placed near water in bogs, tundra, or forest clearings depending on the population; pairs raise a single brood per year and family bonds persist into the winter flock.