Branta canadensis
A large, honking goose with a black-and-white head.
Size: 90-110 cm | Habitat: Pond & Lake Birds | Season: All year
Introduced to Britain in the 17th century, the Canada goose is now one of the most familiar large waterbirds, with a black head and neck, white cheek patch, and brown body.
Black head and long neck · bold white chinstrap patch · brown body · loud honking call · flies in a V-formation
Canada geese graze on grass in large flocks, often on playing fields and parkland near water, and can become bold around visitors offering food.
Canada geese fly in a V-formation partly to save energy — each bird gets a small lift from the wingtip vortex of the bird ahead.
The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) was introduced to Britain from North America in the 17th century as an ornamental waterfowl species and is now one of the most familiar large birds on UK lakes and parks, with a black head and neck, bold white chinstrap patch, and brown body. Its loud honking call and V-formation flight are recognisable even at a distance.
Canada geese graze on grass in large flocks, often on playing fields and parkland close to water, and can become bold and confident around visitors offering food. Their numbers have grown so successfully in Britain that, in some areas, populations are now actively managed to reduce grazing pressure and fouling of amenity grassland.
Understanding the Canada goose reveals an important conservation lesson: not every species story is about scarcity, since some introduced species become so successful that managing their abundance becomes the challenge instead.
🟢 Conservation status: Green (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Green-listed and not a UK conservation priority, since it is a naturalised non-native species with a large and growing population. It illustrates a different side of conservation work — managing abundant or introduced species to limit their impact on native wildlife and habitats, rather than protecting a scarce one.