Bean Geese (4) - Misleading pictures...

Yesterday, a Taiga Bean Goose was reported right in an area where Taiga's winter sometimes. The pictures are showing an alert, quite yellow and slenderbilled Bean. The base of the upper mandible is not so high and the lower mandible looks straight from the base to the tip. Also, the slender and rather long neck looks good for fabalis, as the deep brownish colouration of the head, slightly converging into the greyish neck. So far, reasons enough to visit this bird.

This morning, the bird was still present and found by PieterGeert Gelderblom. We observed the bird for some minutes, carefully judging the billshape. In the field, the height of the grinning patch (or curve of the lower mandible) turned out to be better for rossicus. Although the base of the upper mandible wasn't high, the bill looked to stubbish for a fabalis due to the length. The colouration of the head didn't differ from the other 9 birds. The size of the bird did fit a big rossicus or small fabalis, but the structure didn't differ from the others. The group contained typical rossicus birds with type C and D bills. Did we forget the rule: Bean Geese could be best identified by group? I think we were hoping for just one fabalis in this very mild winter.

Or can pictures be so misleading?

Rossicus - 7/1/2012 - Vlijmen (sorry for the bad quality)