Bean geese were observed for the first time recently in Jinjiang, Fujian province, adding another protected species to those already known in the area.

Bird-watchers saw seven of the geese feeding and playing in a lotus pond in the city. Their shape and size is similar to that of domestic geese, but with black-brown upper bodies and beaks. The tips of their beaks have orange spots.

Bean geese are on a terrestrial wildlife list of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration — a list of protected species in China having important economic or scientific research value.

The migratory birds typically leave their habitats in northern Europe, Siberia, Iceland and eastern Greenland in August and September and arrive in China in October and November to spend the winter. They favor marshes, lakes, coastal areas and farmland.

Their stopover in Jinjiang owes to improved ecology and enhanced protection of farmland and wetlands of the city, which offer good habitat and sufficient food.