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Greater White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Identify the Greater White-fronted Goose by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Greater White-fronted Goose is a medium-large goose that breeds on Arctic tundra around the globe and migrates to milder parts of North America, Europe and Asia for the winter. It is named for the white blaze at the base of the bill, and adults also show bold black bars on the belly. Several subspecies differ mainly in size and tone; the dark, orange-billed Greenland form has declined worryingly in recent decades.

Did you know?

  • In the Greenland population, family ties can last for years and may even include “grandparenting”.
  • In North America it is nicknamed “specklebelly” for its salt-and-pepper belly markings.

Voice

Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

Adults have orange legs and bill, a broad white blaze at the base of the bill and irregular black bars on the belly; the back is greyish brown. Juveniles lack the belly bars and have a narrower or no blaze, and can recall a Greylag Goose, but the adult's white forehead and black belly markings separate it from other geese.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Very large (swan)

Colours

brown, grey, white, orange

About the habitat

Breeds on Arctic tundra. In winter and on migration it uses marshes, estuaries, lake shores, coastal meadows and nearby farmland.

Diet

Grasses, sedges and other plant material; in winter it feeds in wetlands and farmland on green shoots and spilled grain.

Behaviour

Highly migratory and social, moving in noisy flocks, often in V-formation, with a high-pitched, cackling call. It nests on the tundra, laying 4–6 eggs; the female incubates for about 22–27 days while both parents tend the young. Families often stay together through migration and winter.

Sources

Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greater white-fronted goose in flight-1045.jpg

Sound: Pascal Christe, XC984135, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/984135

Sound: Robert Petersen, XC1089033, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/1089033

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions + Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_white-fronted_goose

See also