Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769)

64–81 cmLength141 cmWingspan2.5 kgWeight

This gray-brown goose has a ring of white feathers around the base of the bill and scattered black patches on the breast and belly.

Busiest months: January and October–November · Most records: United States, Canada, United Kingdom

Looks like Lesser White-fronted Goose

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

White horizontal stripe across the forehead at the base of the bill
Bill mostly pink, legs and feet orange
Breast and belly rufous-gray with irregular black patches
Head, neck and back rufous-black, with grayish-white feather edges

Male, female and young

Sexes similar in appearance, male usually slightly larger. Juvenile lacks black patches on the breast and belly and the white stripe at the base of the bill.

Voice

High-pitched quacking calls, like “he-he”, with a distinct change in pitch between the first and second notes.

Similar species

Lesser White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose is larger, lacks the yellow eye-ring of Lesser White-fronted Goose, and has a white face patch that does not extend as far upward.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: January and October–November · Most records: United States, Canada, United Kingdom

Greater White-fronted Goose has been recorded at 1,754 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 82 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Riverlands Migratory Bird SanctuaryUnited States5,828 records
Cosumnes River PreserveUnited States4,740 records
Sacramento NWR – Auto Route & Visitor CenterUnited States4,646 records

More places

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWRUnited States3,266 records
Yolo Bypass Wildlife AreaUnited States3,071 records
Woodland WTPUnited States2,937 records
Gray Lodge Wildlife AreaUnited States2,450 records
Hagerman NWRUnited States2,187 records
WWT Slimbridge Wetland CentreUnited Kingdom1,759 records
Beaverhill Bird ObservatoryCanada1,748 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Canada United Kingdom China Germany Poland South Korea Sweden

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) is a species of goose, closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (A. erythropus). The greater white-fronted goose is migratory, breeding in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Russia, and winters farther south in North America, Europe, and Asia. It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill; its specific name albifrons comes from the Latin albus "white" and frons "forehead".

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia