Anser brachyrhynchus
Silhouette: Laura Barbero-Palacios · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and recently Novaya Zemlya. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The name is often abbreviated in colloquial usage to "pinkfoot" (plural "pinkfeet"). Anser is the Latin for "goose", and brachyrhynchus comes from the ancient Greek brachus, meaning "short", and rhunchos, meaning "bill".
It is a medium-sized goose, 60–75 cm (24–30 in) long, the wingspan 135–170 cm (53–67 in), and weighing 1.8–3.4 kg (4.0–7.5 lb). It has a short bill, bright pink in the middle with a black base and tip, similar in pattern to tundra bean goose but pink where that species is orange, and pink feet. The body is mid-grey-brown, the head and neck a richer, darker brown, the rump and vent white, and the tail grey with a broad white tip. The upper wing-coverts are of a somewhat similar pale bluish-grey as in the greylag goose, and the flight feathers blackish-grey.
The species is most closely related to the larger taiga bean goose Anser fabalis, rather than the similarly-sized subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Svalbard | 🇳🇴 Norway | |
| 2 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 3 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 6 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Centro Cicogne e Anatidi | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 4 | Tierpark Hagenbeck | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Buttonwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Pink-footed Goose sighting in Svalbard on a given day, based on 890 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 48 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Pink-footed Goose in Svalbard on a given day, against about 20% in April, the lowest month. November to January have too few records to rate.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pink-footed Goose sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Pink-footed Goose sightings, Svalbard has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Vatnajokull National Park (Iceland, about 10%) and Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pink-footed Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Svalbard (890 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
