Bar-headed Goose

• Appearance

  A pale grey goose with black and white markings on its head and neck.

• Size

  Length 68–78 cm (27–30 in), wingspan 140–160 cm (55–62 in), weight 2–3 kg (4.5–6.5 lb).

• Nest

  On the ground in shallow depressions among vegetation, or sometimes in trees.

• Breeding

  Nests in scattered colonies in May–June. Usually lays 4–6 eggs, incubated for 27–30 days. Goslings able to fly within almost two months.

• Distribution

  Natural range on the high plateaus of Central Asia at altitudes above 4,000 metres. Birds seen in Finland are probably escapees. Breeding feral populations have become established in Norway, England, and recently in Kemijärvi in Finnish Lapland

• Migration

  Migratory in natural breeding areas.

• Diet

  Various plants and parts of plants. In winter also grazes on fields for grain, roots and crop remnants.

Bar-headed Geese are almost uniformly pale grey, except for their white heads, throats and necks, and blackish markings on their wing feathers, neck and nape. They also have two pronounced black stripes on the back of their heads. Young birds’ heads are uniformly grey, with brownish darker markings on their heads and necks.