Taiga Bean Goose

The taxon Taiga Bean Goose has evolved a lot. Initially, it grouped together in subspecies all the morphs presenting roughly the same characters: a black and orange (or pink for one of them) bill and orange legs. After some events, the current situation is the following: the taxon gave birth to 3 species, the Taiga Bean Goose itself, the Tundra Bean Goose and the Short-billed Bean Goose. We are treating here the first one, Anser fabalis.
The Taiga Bean Goose is a grey goose, according to the current terminology, meaning it has a brown to grey-brown plumage on top. To identify a gray goose, one must pay attention to the silhouette and especially the head characteristics. There is no sexual dimorphism.
The Taiga Bean Goose has 3 sub-species which size increases from West to East. A. fabalis fabalis, the Western ssp, is the smallest one and the one with the shortest bill. For this reason, it is likely to be confused with the Tundra Bean Goose on the European wintering sites. It has a medium-length neck and bill, but this is quite subjective and implies prior knowledge of the birds in the field. The bill should be paid attention to. It is moderately high at the base and usually has a slightly concave culmen which makes it seem quite long. It is bicolor, black and orange, the orange color covering 1/3 to 1/2 of the surface. Rarely, the orange is reduced to a subterminal ring like in the Tundra Bean Goose. Then, the bill shape is what decides. The eye is dark and the legs are bright orange.
The juvenile looks like the adult but the bill is entirely blackish and the legs are dull yellow.
The Eastern ssp middendorffii is big with a long neck and a characteristic long bill.