Best time to see: mid Oct to mid Apr

Key facts

Medium "grey goose" with distinctive white forehead and black bars on the belly

Habitat: freshwater, marshes and grassland

Annual winter visitor to Britain, breeding in arctic Scandinavia and N. Siberia

Recognition

Medium-sized grey/brown goose with white forehead, bold black bars on underparts and orange legs; 70–75 cm

Swims on water; grazes on meadows, feeding on grass, cereals and potatoes

Pink bill = Russian race; orange bill = Greenland race