domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Huntingdon, Long Island (New York, USA), 27th January 2015 - copyright Charleen Turner

(photo ID: 1804)

Hybrids between domestic Greylag Goose and Canada Goose are more variable in appearance than hybrids between wild or feral Greylag Goose and Canada Goose.  This is not surprising as domestic Greylags are very variable, with some resembling their wild ancestors and others looking quite different.

On this page we have only included birds which are considered likely to involve domestic Greylag Geese, not wild or feral Greylag Geese.  We have a separate page for hybrids between wild or feral Greylag Geese and Canada Geese.

Some indicators that the parent Greylag might be of domestic origin include white plumage in places that white is not normally present in wild Greylag x Canada Goose hybrids, bulky structure, especially a heavy rear end, especially bright bare parts or geography (e.g. hybrids in North America where normally the only Greylag Geese are domestic ones).

(See also: wild-type Greylag Goose x Canada Goose, domestic (Swan Goose x Greylag Goose) x Canada Goose, Swan Goose x Canada Goose)


The first bird shown here shows extensive white in the plumage (underparts, primaries and head), clear indicators of domestic heritage (as would be expected in North America).  The non-white parts of the plumage are typical of Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 1804 above; with Canada Geese), Huntingdon, Long Island (New York, USA), 27th January 2015 - copyright Charleen Turner

(photo IDs: 1805-1813)

The next one has less white on the head but does have a white band across the belly confirming that one parent was a domestic bird.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (with Canada Geese), Fremont (California, USA), 8th December 2011 - copyright Matt Brady

(photo ID: 2109)

The next bird is quite similar.  On this one the excessively heavy rear belly is clear evidence of domestic goose ancestry.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Newark (California, USA), 31st March 2013 - copyright Patty Bruno

(photo ID: 2744)

The next birds all show more extensive white around the head compared to typical Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids.  Note that I am not 100% certain that an excess of white around the head necessarily indicates that the Greylag parent was domestic (and any comments/observations for or against that would be welcome).  It appears that the very similar Greater White-fronted Goose x Canada Goose hybrid can show more white on the head than expected so perhaps the same may be true of non-domestic Greylag Goose hybrids?

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Abberton Reservoir (Essex, UK), 21st August 2004 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 0044)

 probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Flitcham (Norfolk, UK), 1st October 2003 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0040-0042)

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Abberton Reservoir (Essex, UK), 21st August 2004 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 0043)

 probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Swanton Morley (Norfolk, UK), 6th March 2004 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0045-0046)

The bird at the front in the next two photos looks much like a typical Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, but the one at the back right has much more white on the head:

 probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids, Hayle (Cornwall, UK), 10th August 2012 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 0047-0048)

 probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids (with Greylag Goose), Braunschweig-Riddagshausen, Kreuzteich (Germany), 6th March 2012 - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(photoIDs: 0612-0613)

 probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids, Riddagshäuser Teiche, Braunschweig (Germany), late March 2010 (same birds as in photo IDs 0612-0613 above) - copyright Joern Lehmhus

(photo IDs: 0719-0723)

The Canada Goose parent in the next bird was thought to be moffiti-type; the hybrid is very similar to typical wild Greylag x Canada hybrids, but the location points to the Greylag being of domestic stock.

domestic Greylag Goose x moffiti-type Canada Goose hybrid, Riverside Park, Fort Morgan, Morgan County (Colorado, USA), 16th February 2013 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1204)

domestic Greylag Goose x moffiti Canada Goose hybrid, Nisqually NWR, Thurston County (Washington, USA), December 2006 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo ID: 1444)

domestic Greylag Goose x moffiti Canada Goose hybrid, Wray Fish Hatchery, Yuma County (Colorado, USA), mid May 2014 - copyright Steve Mlodinow

(photo IDs: 1642-1643)

Like domestic geese themselves, some domestic goose x Canada Goose hybrids can be predominantly white.  Usually they aren't pure white but they can be quite tricky to separate from 'pure' white domestic Greylag Geese.  Sometimes the neck is dark enough to indicate Canada parentage, perhaps with a contrasting pale cheek, but on some birds you need to see the tail.  Typically the dark on the tail extends to the tail tip which is a give-away that Canada Goose (or at least a Branta sp.) is involved.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (with Canada Geese), Sevenoaks (Kent, UK), 20th December 2014 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 1701-1706)

Another predominantly white bird follows:

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Lee Valley Country Park (London/Hertfordshire, UK), 23rd January 2010 - copyright Katy M ("BlueyBirdy")

(photo IDs: 2362-2363)

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Winchmore Hill (London, UK), 10th November 2010 - copyright Katy M ("BlueyBirdy")

(photo IDs: 2365-2366)

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (presumably same bird as in photo IDs 2365-2366 above), Winchmore Hill (London, UK), 28th November 2010 - copyright Katy M ("BlueyBirdy")

(photo IDs: 2367-2369)

This bird was too distant to photograph really... not only did it have a lot of white around the head but the bill seemed quite big and bright, so I'm thinking the parent must have been domestic but am not 100% sure.

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Welney (Norfolk, UK), 10th January 2015 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 1762)

Steve tells us that the next bird was paired up with a Canada Geese.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham (West Midlands, UK), February 2008 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1913-1914)

The next one may possibly have been the same bird as the last one: Steve tells us that it was slightly larger than the Canada Geese.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Swanshurst Park, Birmingham (West Midlands, UK), September 2009 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1915-1918)

Here you can see how the dark colour on the tail extends to the tip of the tail, which pretty much confirms Canada Goose involvement lest anyone should be concerned about whether it could simply be a domestic goose.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (with Canada Geese), Swanshurst Park, Birmingham (West Midlands, UK), November 2009 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1919-1922)

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, location not given (presumably Midlands/NW England, UK), April 2010 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1934-1936)

I would hazard a guess that the next one is the same bird as the last one.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (with domestic Swan Goose x Greylag Goose hybrids and Canada Geese), Etherow Country Park, Compstall (Greater Manchester, UK), October 2010 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1964-1966)

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (with Canada Geese and Mallards), Etherow Country Park, Compstall (Greater Manchester, UK), October 2012 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo ID: 1997)

The next one is a bit similar but differences include the greater extent of dark on the neck.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Heaton Park, Manchester (Greater Manchester, UK), May 2010 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1949-1955)

Two very different birds next, but perhaps from the same parents as they were with a Canada Goose and a domestic Greylag Goose.  First 3 photos show one bird, next one shows both with possible parents and last 2 show the second bird.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids, Boggart Hole Clough, Manchester (Greater Manchester, UK), September 2010 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1956-1961)

Another two very different birds that were possibly siblings are next up.

 domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Heaton Park, Manchester (Greater Manchester, UK), 13th May 2011 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo ID: 1974)

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Heaton Park, Manchester (Greater Manchester, UK), 13th May 2011 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1975-1977)

This one could pass as just a Greylag x Canada but with all that extra white (not just in the head/neck) the Greylag parent must have been domestic.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Willen Lake, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire, UK), 16th February 2011 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 1972-1973)

Two similar birds, one with extensive white in the head and neck, the other with just a few white specks.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids, location not given (UK), 12th December 2010 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 2070-2073)

 probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Willen Lake, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire, UK), October 2012 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo ID: 1987)

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Willen Lake, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire, UK), June 2012 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo ID: 1988)

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Wissington (Norfolk, UK), 4th April 2015 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 2164)

The next pair of birds look a bit like some Bar-headed Goose x Canada Goose hybrids and I'm not 100% certain that is eliminated.  We think they are more likely to involve a domestic goose though.  The bills are quite dark so I suppose the domestic parent could have Swan Goose genes, but that would be a hard call.

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrids, Hyde Park (London, UK), 16th February 2017 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 3067-3071)

The next one is very similar to wild-type Greylag x Canada Goose hybrids but with a lot of white on the face and a hint of a white band at the sides of the breast I suspect the parent has domestic ancestry.

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, location not provided (UK), 29th January 2017 - copyright Steve Graby

(photo IDs: 3075-3077)

The extent of white on this bird may be possible on a non-domestic Greylag hybrid but there are so many hybrids in this area that do show clearer signs of domestic ancestry I suspect this is just another one of those.  I am not 100% sure the two photos show the same individual - they were in slightly different locations within the same site but a couple of hours apart with plenty of time for it to have moved.

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Nunnery Lakes, Thetford (Norfolk, UK), 19th November 2016 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2815-2816)

This one at the same place was more clearly domestic-ancestry with its white streak coming down from the side of the breast.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Nunnery Lakes, Thetford (Norfolk, UK), 19th November 2016 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 2817-2818)

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Windermere (Cumbria, UK), 28th December 2016 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID 2837)

I'm not sure if the appearance of a heavy rear end is just its posture at the time of the photos or if it indicates domestic ancestry.  I favour the latter, especially as the white round the base of the bill is a little more extensive than usually seen on non-domestic Greylag x Canada hybrids.

probable domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, north Oxfordshire (UK), 22nd October 2016 - copyright Steve Robinson

(photo IDs 2995-2996)

The next three birds were all at the same site along with two other Greylag x Canada hybrids that didn't show any evidence of domestic ancestry.  The plumage of the first bird is very much like a typical Greylag x Canada with no sign of domestic heritage, but look at the heavy belly sagging down behind the legs.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Wissington (Norfolk, UK), 24th February 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 3083)

The second one shows a lot of white on the head and neck, though we are still not quite certain if that necessarily indicates domestic heritage.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Wissington (Norfolk, UK), 24th February 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 3082)

The third one was much more distinctive - for a moment I thought I might have found a Snow Goose x Canada Goose hybrid as these can look quite similar, but the structure and bare parts seem to count against that.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Wissington (Norfolk, UK), 24th February 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo IDs: 3086-3089)

The next bird was with a party of domestic farmyard geese all of which had entirely white plumage and one of which was presumably its parent.  The domestic ancestry of the hybrid is obvious (structurally and in the plumage) but it's interesting that although showing more white than a typical wild-type Greylag x Canada hybrid it is not nearly so extensively white as some domestic hybrids.

domestic Greylag Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Haddiscoe Island (Norfolk, UK), 7th March 2017 - copyright Dave Appleton

(photo ID: 2276)

Greylag Goose Anser anser
Canada Goose Branta candensis