white goose, London (1 Viewer)

[marnixR]

earlier this week i saw the following two geese in St. James's Park in London
to me they look a bit like snow geese, and hence would not be indigenous

can anyone offer a more informed opinion ?

 

[birdmeister]

At least one (if not both) is a Ross's Goose. I believe this has been recorded as one of the exotic waterfowl species in St. James' Park.

 

[marnixR]

to my eye both birds looked of the same species
i assume your use of the term "exotic" means that it was introduced and is not a natural migrant

 

[birdmeister]

to my eye both birds looked of the same species
i assume your use of the term "exotic" means that it was introduced and is not a natural migrant

Your assumption is correct.

I think my perceived size difference is due to the angle of the front bird. Structurally they both look like Ross's Goose to me.

 

[Nutcracker]

They have a black 'grin' patch on the bill, which supports Snow Goose.

But more importantly, they've only got one wing each, so they're pinioned captive birds. Sorry, you can't tick them 3

 

[stevethehydra]

Yes, the small white geese in St James's Park are Ross's (though there *may* be some Snow Goose influence in them somewhere, as IIRC many captive "Snow" and "Ross's" have some hybrid ancestry due to misidentification of breeding stock). If one bird is bigger than the other, it may be just intraspecific variation (geese do tend to vary in size). Note also they have only one black wingtip each, indicating they have been pinioned.

 

[marnixR]

thanks for clearing that up - maybe it’s because I don’t come through St. James’s Park that often that I hadn’t noticed them before