The greylag goose is a large, bulky, goose with a big head, and the largest of the grey goose species. It was one of the first species of animals to be domesticated in Ancient Egypt about 3000 years ago and is a typical farmyard goose. The domestic breed is known as A. a. domesticus and can interbreed with Anser anser. Many birds seen in the UK outside of the winter months are re-colonised from domestic populations and are often semi-tame. It is seen as a pest due to overgrazing of agricultural crops and is listed in Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, meaning it can be killed or taken outside of the close season.
Breeding birds: 46,000 pairs
UK wintering birds: 140,000 British birds and 88,000 from Iceland
Family: Ducks, geese & swans
Adult greylag geese have grey-brown plumage overall with creamy-white edges on their upperparts, black flight feathers, and a rounded white tail with one black bar.
Their underparts are pale brown with fine grey spots and blotches, and they have brown flanks with pale edges, white underwings with darker flight feathers. The belly and undertail coverts are white.
The head and neck are grey brown with a distinctive concertina pattern, and they have dark brown eyes with an orange or pink eyering. The bill, legs, and feet are orange.
Males and females are similar, although males are usually slightly larger.
Juvenile greylag geese have duller plumage, less speckling on their breast and belly, and grey legs.
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Greylag geese breed from March to April and produce 1 brood a season. They are monogamous and form strong pair bonds although some will divorce. They breed in loose colonies on tundra, near lakes, marshes, and reed beds. Both adults build the nest which is on the ground concealed amongst reed beds, under bushes or at the base of trees, or on a raft of vegetation on water. The nest is either a scrape in the ground lined with vegetation, or a shallow cup made from reed stems and grass and lined with down.
Greylag geese lay 4-6 creamy-coloured, granular eggs which are incubated by the female alone for 27-28 days while the male remains on guard nearby. The chicks are precocial and covered in olive-brown down on the upperparts and yellow down on the underparts. They are cared for by both parents, and fledge at about 50-60 days after hatching. They reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years.
Greylag geese eat mostly plant matter such as grass, leaves, roots, stems, rhizomes, tubers, and fruits. In the winter they will also eat grain and vegetables including agricultural crops such as potatoes, turnips, and carrots. They will occasionally take small fish and aquatic insects.
Greylag geese can be seen all year round in the UK. They are found in lowland areas, parks, grassy fields, farmland, meadows, gravel pits, and river valleys. The population is more numerous from September to April when they are joined by winter visitors in the north.
In Ancient Greece and Rome, greylag geese were associated with fertility and love and there have been various associations between geese and sex ever since. The nursery rhyme Goosey Goosey Gander is thought to have sexual overtones, “bitten by a goose” used to refer to the visible signs of an STI, “goose and duck” is rhyming slang for sexual intercourse, and “to goose” means to poke someone in the bottom.
