Bird Guide

Greylag Goose vs Hooded Merganser

Greylag Goose (Anser anser)

Greylag Goose

Anser anser

Huge3.3 kgWetland

The greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the grey geese of the genus Anser, but is more lightly built and agile than its domestic relative. It has a rotund, bulky body, a thick and long neck, and a large head and bill. It has pink legs and feet, and an orange or pink bill with a white or brown nail (hard horny material at tip of upper mandible). It is 74 to 91 centimetres (29 to 36 in) long with a wing length of 41.2 to 48 centimetres (16+1⁄4 to 19 in). It has a tail 6.2 to 6.9 centimetres (2+7⁄16 to 2+11⁄16 in), a bill of 6.4 to 6.9 centimetres (2+1⁄2 to 2+11⁄16 in) long, and a tarsus of 7.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Grégoire Chauvot · CC0
Photo: Andreas Schneider · CC BY 4.0
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Large614 gWetland

The hooded merganser is a sexually dimorphic species. The adult female has a greyish-brown body, with a narrow white patch over the lower breast and belly. She has a light reddish-brown crest extending from the back of the head. During the nonbreeding season the male looks similar to the female, except that his eyes are yellow and the female's eyes are brown.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Calinsdad · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Greylag Goose and Hooded Merganser.