Greylag goose
Anser anser
marimo · Greater London
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 74–91 cm, wingspan 147–180 cm
- Diet
- Grass, water plants, grain
- Status in Georgia
- Winter visitor, summer visitor and migrant
- Recorded regions
- Adjara
- Habitat
- Marshes, lakes, pastures and fields
- Family
- Anatidae
- Conservation
- Global LC (2018); Georgia LC (2024)
The greylag goose (Anser anser) is the largest and bulkiest of the grey geese of the genus Anser: it is 74–91 cm long, with a wingspan of 147–180 cm, and weighs 2.16–4.56 kg, about 3.3 kg on average. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose and one of the first animals to be domesticated. The birds in Georgia belong to the eastern subspecies, A. a. rubrirostris. It is harmless to people. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a winter visitor, summer visitor and migrant, although its seasonal status in Georgia is not fully understood. Records are few: most come from Adjara, near Batumi, and other regions have only single records. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Least Concern (LC).
Identification
Greylag goose: how to identify it
A large, bulky, grey-brown goose with a thick, long neck and a big head and bill. The legs are pink and the bill orange or pink: the eastern subspecies, which occurs in Georgia, has a pink bill. It looks like a domestic goose but is lighter and more agile.
The plumage is grey-brown with pale feather fringes that give a barred pattern. The head is darker, and the breast and belly are pale with a variable amount of black spotting. Young birds lack these spots and have greyish legs.
The forewing and rump are pale grey, which shows well in flight or when the bird stretches its wings. The pale wing coverts contrast with the darker flight feathers. A white line runs along the upper flanks.
It gives a loud cackle like a domestic goose, "aahng-ung-ung". A flock sounds like baying hounds. Adults hiss when threatened.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It breeds by wetlands fringed with vegetation in open grassland, steppe and semi-desert, from sea level to 2,300 m. For nesting it often chooses islands in lakes, out of reach of land predators. In winter it lives on lowland farmland in open country, in marshes, on lakes and reservoirs, and in coastal lagoons and estuaries. In Georgia there are only a few greylag goose records. Most come from Adjara, near Batumi and Gonio, from February to September. In Kakheti it is seen mainly in July, and in Samtskhe-Javakheti in April and May, for example at Saghamo Lake. Tbilisi has two records, one of them at Turtle Lake, and Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Kvemo Kartli one each.
The greylag goose map combines public iNaturalist observations from Georgia. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Only Adjara has enough records.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It feeds almost only on plants, mostly grass, often grazing in pastures alongside sheep and cows. It also eats water plants, tubers and fruit. In winter it gleans grain from stubble fields, sometimes grazes growing crops and also eats potatoes. Occasionally it takes small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs and insects. It feeds by day, especially in the morning and evening, and spends the night and the middle of the day on open water.
Northern populations are migratory, while some in temperate regions stay put. It leaves its northern breeding grounds fairly late in autumn and starts back as early as January. Asian birds winter in Azerbaijan, Iran and east to China. After breeding it moults and cannot fly for about a month. Outside the breeding season it is very gregarious and forms flocks of up to 25,000 birds before the autumn migration. Young birds migrate with their parents and so learn the migration routes. A pair usually stays together for life. The nest is on the ground, among reeds, in shrubs or on floating vegetation, built from reed, grass, moss, feathers and down. It usually lays 4–6 creamy-white eggs. The female incubates for about 28 days while the male stands guard nearby. The young leave the nest soon after hatching, both parents care for them, and they fledge at 8–9 weeks.
Globally the greylag goose is rated Least Concern (LC, 2018). There are about 1,000,000–1,100,000 birds in all, and the number is increasing. The threats are hunting, lead shot poisoning, the drainage and conversion of wetlands, oil pollution and avian influenza. In places farmers persecute it because it damages crops. In some countries its numbers have grown so much that it is treated as a pest. The species is listed in Appendix II of the Bonn Convention and in Annex II of the EU Birds Directive. The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates it Least Concern (LC) in Georgia.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a winter visitor, summer visitor and migrant, although there are few records of wild birds.
Most records come from Adjara, from Batumi and Gonio. There are single records from Kakheti, from Samtskhe-Javakheti, for example Saghamo Lake, and from Tbilisi, Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Kvemo Kartli.
It is a large, grey-brown goose with pink legs and an orange or pink bill. In flight it shows a pale grey forewing.
The domestic goose descends from it and often looks very similar. The wild bird is lighter and more agile, while the domestic goose is bulkier and heavier.
It is 74–91 cm long, with a wingspan of 147–180 cm, and weighs 2.16–4.56 kg.
Mostly grass, water plants and, in winter, grain left in fields. It rarely eats animal food.
The greylag goose is harmless to people. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Least Concern (LC). The species is listed in Appendix II of the Bonn Convention.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
