Bar-headed Goose

The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus Anser by the black bars on its otherwise white head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. A mid-sized goose, it measures 71–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length and weighs 1.87–3.2 kg (4.1–7.1 lb).

The summer habitat is high-altitude lakes in central Asia, where the bird grazes on short grass. The species migrates south from Tibet, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia before crossing the Himalayas. The bird has come to the attention of medical science in recent years as having been an early victim of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI, highly pathogenic avian influenza), at Qinghai. It suffers predation from crows, foxes, ravens, sea eagles, gulls and others. The total population may, however, be increasing, but it is complex to assess population trends, as it occurs over more than 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi). The bar-headed goose is one of the world's highest-flying birds, having been heard flying across Mount Makalu (the fifth highest mountain on earth at 8,481 m (27,825 ft)), and apparently seen over Mount Everest (8,848 m (29,029 ft)), although this is a second-hand report with no verification. This demanding migration has long puzzled physiologists and naturalists; "there must be a good explanation for why the birds fly to the extreme altitudes... particularly since there are passes through the Himalayas at lower altitudes, and which are used by other migrating bird species". …

The bar-headed goose has been suggested as being the model for the Hamsa of Indian mythology. Another interpretation suggests that the bar-headed goose is likely to be the Kadamb in ancient and medieval Sanskrit literature, whereas Hamsa generally refers to the swan.