Greater White-Fronted Goose
Anser albifrons
Aves › Anseriformes › Anatidae › Anser
Conservation status: least_concern
This goose is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill. It is migratory, breeding in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Russia, and winters farther south in North America, Europe, and Asia.
How To Identify
This large waterfowl displays a generally dull grey-brown body plumage, distinguished by the striking white patch or band across its forehead and bill.
Habitat
They inhabit open wetlands, marshes, tundra, and grasslands in high northern latitudes during breeding season, and migrate to coastal marshes, prairie ponds, and agricultural areas in temperate regions during winter.
Behaviour
These geese are highly social and migratory, traveling in large flocks in V-formation and maintaining strong pair bonds that often last multiple years, with families staying together through migration.
Did You Know?
Greater White-fronted Geese are named for the distinctive white blaze on their foreheads, and they honk in a unique laughing, cackling manner that sounds like 'kah-kah-kah,' earning them the nickname 'laughing geese' in some regions.
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