Greylag geese

It is not only humans that exhibit resentment towards foreigners. Some animals are extremely xenophobic.

One day, in the wetlands of the Empordà, I came across this pair of greylag geese (Anser anser) screeching at and bullying another smaller bird, a dark barnacle goose which had presumably flown thousands of kilometres to get this far. This is a primeval fear of everything that is different, usually involving aggressive behaviour, and monopolising space or food.

In fact it is an absurd, totally groundless fear, more characteristic of feuding geese than rational human beings. The Scriptures are right when they remind us: “... You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord” (Numbers 15:15).