Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifronsOrder: ANSERIFORMES Family: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Codes: Common Name: GWFG Scientific Name: ANSALB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175020

Head

Topo Map: Duck-like Head

Bill Shape: Spatulate
Eye Color: Dark brown.
Head Pattern: Plain, Special (unique patterns or features)
Crown Color: Dark gray-brown
Forehead Color: White
Nape Color: Dark gray-brown
Throat Color: Dark gray-brown
Cere color: No Data

Recommended Products:

Body

Topo Map: Duck-like Body

Length Range: 66-86 cm (26-34 in)
Weight: 2721 g (96 oz)
Size: Size 4. Large (16 - 32 in)
Color: White, Brown, Black, Gray
Underparts: Dark gray-brown with heavy mottling and barring.
Upperparts: Dark gray-brown
Back Pattern: Barred or banded
Belly Pattern: Barred or banded, Scaled or Scalloped
Breast Pattern: Barred or banded, Scaled or Scalloped

Flight

Topo Map: Duck-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Steady direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Wingspan Range: 135-157 cm (53-62 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings, Long-Wings
Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail
Tail Pattern: Banded
Upper Tail: Black
Under Tail: White
Leg Color: Orange

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Greater White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose: Medium goose with dark-brown body. Underparts are barred and flecked with black; belly and undertail coverts are conspicuously white. Front of face has a white patch. Bill is usually pink. Legs are orange. Steady direct flight with rapid wing beats. Flies in V formation.

● Song: "kah-lah-aluek", " wah-wah-wah"

● Foraging & Feeding: Greater White-fronted Goose: Feeds mostly on grass, sedges, aquatic plants, berries, and grains; occasionally eats insects and mollusks.

● Breeding & nesting: Greater White-fronted Goose: Three to six buff, creamy white, or light pink eggs are laid in a down-lined grassy depression on tundra. Incubation ranges from 22 to 28 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Greater White-fronted Goose: Other geese lack irregular black spots on bellies and white patch at base of bills. Juvenile (which lacks these marks) has yellow bill, legs, and feet, distinguishing it from juvenile blue phase Snow Geese, which has dark bill, legs, and feet.

Flight Pattern

Steady direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Greater White-fronted Goose: Breeds in Alaska, far-northern Canada, and Greenland. Spends winters from coastal British Columbia to California, in New Mexico, and along the Gulf coast in Texas and Louisiana; more rarely on the east coast and in the interior. Breeds on marshy tundra; winters on marshes and bays.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight96 Ounces

Duck-like Head

Duck-like Body

Duck-like Flight

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America