Canada Goose Hybrid with Greylag Goose
Q: Can you identify this bird for me? My wife took the attached pic in mid April in our back field near our pond. We are in southern Ontario, Niagara region.
A: The goose on the right appears to be some kind of hybrid, most likely a Canada goose (Branta canadensis) hybrid with a domestic greylag goose (Anser anser) which is the most common pairing with Canada geese.
There will always be color variations when this kind of cross occurs - some will have less white or more white or even some will appear very close in coloration and markings to a Canada goose and will be very difficult to tell the difference.
Here is one example of a Canada x Greylag in the video below:
Canada Goose Greylag Goose Hybrid
And here is another with more white like yours, but clearly not a pure Canada goose:
More information and photos of Canada Goose Hybrids here.
Canada geese also hybridize with many other species of geese and swan including the barnacle goose, cackling goose, brown China goose, snow goose, greater white-fronted goose and emperor goose, just to name a few.
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