The greylag goose is a native species in Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Europe, and it also winters in the Mediterranean and southern Asia. In North America the domestic greylag goose is similar in appearance to the native greater white-fronted goose, except the latter has a white patch at the base of a pink (instead of an orange) bill, and it also has black patches on its underparts.
Meanwhile, our domestic swan goose is descended from a species that occurs naturally in China as well as parts of Siberia, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. It can be distinguished from the greylag goose by the large knob at the base of its black bill.
Mathew Tekulsky writes a regular column about birding in his backyard and neighborhood in Bel Air, California. You can follow his encounters with the birds of the Santa Monica Mountains here on National Geographic News Bird Watcher every fortnight or so.
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