Greater white-fronted goose

{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}} {{Speciesbox | name = Greater white-fronted goose | image = Greater white-fronted goose in flight-1045.jpg | image_caption = A greater white-fronted goose during migration in the Central Valley of California | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Anser albifrons'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22679881A85980652 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679881A85980652.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Anser | species = albifrons | authority = (Scopoli, 1769) | subdivision_ranks = Subspecies | subdivision = * ''A. a. albifrons'' European white-fronted goose (Scopoli, 1769) * ''A. a. frontalis'' Pacific white-fronted goose Baird, 1858 * ''A. a. gambeli'' Gambel's white-fronted goose Hartlaub, 1852 * ''A. a. elgasi'' Tule goose Delacour & Ripley, 1975 (disputed) * ''A. a. flavirostris'' Greenland white-fronted goose Dalgety & Scott, 1948 | synonyms = ''Branta albifrons'' Scopoli, 1769 | range_map = Anser albifrons map.png | range_map_caption = Distribution map of subspecies of greater white-fronted goose }} thumb|Greater white-fronted goose in California [[File:Badderende kolgans-4961846.webm|thumb|Greater white-fronted geese, Texel, Netherlands (2013)]]

The '''greater white-fronted goose''' ('''''Anser albifrons''''') is a species of goose, closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus'').<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Ottenburghs | first1=J. | last2=Megens | first2=H.-J. | last3=Kraus | first3=R.H.S. | last4=Madsen | first4=O. | last5=van Hooft | first5=P. | last6=van Wieren | first6=S.E. | last7=Crooijmans | first7=R.P.M.A. | last8=Ydenberg | first8=R.C. | last9=Groenen | first9=M.A.M. | last10=Prins | first10=H.H.T. | date=2016 | title=A tree of geese: A phylogenomic perspective on the evolutionary history of True Geese | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=101 | pages=303–313 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.021| pmid=27233434 | bibcode=2016MolPE.101..303O | url=http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-0-379362 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> 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.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021"/> It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill; its specific name ''albifrons'' comes from the Latin {{Lang|la|albus}} "white" and {{Lang|la|frons}} "forehead".<ref name= job90>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |pages =[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n38 38], 48}}</ref> In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it has been known as the '''white-fronted goose'''; in North America, it is known as the greater white-fronted goose (or "greater whitefront"), and this name is also increasingly adopted internationally.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> Even more distinctive are the salt-and-pepper markings on the breast of adult birds, which is why the goose is colloquially called the "specklebelly" in North America.

==Description== {{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Anser-albifrons |species=Greater White-fronted Goose}} thumb|''Anser albifrons'' – Greater White-fronted Goose – XC96532

Greater white-fronted geese are {{convert|64|–|81|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length, have a {{convert|130|–|165|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan, and weigh {{convert|1.93|-|3.31|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=AAB/><ref name=CRC/> They have bright orange legs and mouse-coloured upper wing coverts. They are smaller than greylag geese. The greater white-fronted goose is larger than and lacks the yellow eye ring of the lesser white-fronted goose, and its white facial blaze does not extend upwards so far as in the lesser.<ref name=Perrins1987/>

The male is typically larger in size, but both sexes are similar in appearance—greyish brown birds with light grey breasts dappled with dark brown to black blotches and bars. Both males and females also have a pinkish bill.<ref name=DU/>

Greater white-fronted geese make a variation of sounds, but notably the most recognizable is their high-pitched cackle that can be imitated by the sounds "he-he". A distinct breaking of the note occurs from the first cackle to the second.

===Differences between European and Greenland birds=== thumb|left|''A. a. flavirostris'', the Greenland subspecies

The appearance of European or Russian white-fronted geese, of the subspecies ''A. a. albifrons'' and Greenland white-fronted geese, of the subspecies ''A. a. flavirostris'' (which winters in the British Isles and occasionally reaches the northwest European mainland), differ in a number of ways. The former, in all plumages, looks darker and more "oily-looking" than the latter, both at rest and in flight.<ref name=Kemp/>

The differences that apply to first-winter plumage are:<ref name=Kemp/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://birdingfrontiers.com/2015/02/20/greenland-and-russian-white-fronted-geese/|title=Birds and Wildlife-always discovering: Differences between Greenland and Russian birds.|date=11 July 2021 }}</ref>

* The mantle and scapulars of ''A. a. flavirostris'' have narrow, indistinct pale fringes creating a uniform appearance to the birds' upperparts, whereas ''A. a. albifrons'' has noticeable whitish fringes creating obviously barred upperparts. * The tertials of ''A. a. flavirostris'' have indistinct pale fringes, whereas these pale fringes are more noticeable on ''A. a. albifrons'' * The lesser and median upperwing coverts of ''A. a. flavirostris'' have narrow, indistinct pale fringes, creating a rather uniform appearance to the wing, whereas on ''A. a. albifrons'', these fringes are prominent and broad, creating wing bars. * The greater coverts of ''A. a. flavirostris'' are dark grey, with a narrow white tip, forming a narrow wing bar; on ''A. a. albifrons'', they are blue-grey, with prominent white tips, forming a bold wing bar. * The flank line is narrow and white on ''A. a. flavirostris'', but broad and bright white on ''A. a. albifrons'' * The tail of ''A. a. flavirostris'' is dark brown, with a very narrow white tip and sides; that of ''A. a. albifrons'' is dark grey, and the white tip and sides are at least double the width of the corresponding areas on ''A. a. flavirostris''. * The bill of ''A. a. flavirostris'' is orange-yellow with a dark nail, compared with the bright-pink bill of ''A. a. albifrons'', which has only a hint of dark on the nail; in addition, the bill of the former is longer and appears slimmer than that of the latter.

The belly barring on adult birds is on average more extensive on ''A. a. flavirostris'' than on ''A. a. albifrons'', but the individual variation in both forms renders this of limited use as an identification feature.<ref name=Kemp/>

The bill of adult Greenland white-fronts are also orange-yellow at the base, but can be more pinkish-yellow on the outer half, thus close in colour to European white-fronts; the colour difference is more easily determined in dull, flat light rather than bright sunshine.<ref name=Kemp/>

The Greenland white-fronts are of conservation concern. While most populations of the species have been increasing, the Greenland population continuously declined in the first two decades of the 2000s (after having continuously increased in the two preceding decades). The reason for this decline is not entirely clear, but likely is related to more extreme weather conditions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weegman |first1=Mitch D. |last2=Walsh |first2=Alyn J. |last3=Ogilvie |first3=Malcolm A. |last4=Bearhop |first4=Stuart |last5=Hilton |first5=Geoff M. |last6=Hodgson |first6=David J. |last7=Fox |first7=Anthony David |date=April 2022 |title=Adult survival and per-capita production of young explain dynamics of a long-lived goose population |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13013 |journal=Ibis |language=en |volume=164 |issue=2 |pages=574–580 |doi=10.1111/ibi.13013 |issn=0019-1019|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Taxonomy== The greater white-fronted goose is divided into five subspecies. The nominate subspecies, the European white-fronted goose (''A. a. albifrons'') breeds in the far north of Russia and winters further south and west in Europe and Asia.

Three other restricted-range subspecies occur in northern North America: Gambel's white-fronted goose (''A. a. gambeli'') in interior northwestern Canada and wintering on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, slightly larger than the nominate form, the Pacific white-fronted goose (''A. a. frontalis''), and the tule goose (''A. a. elgasi'') in southwest Alaska, the largest and longest-billed of all, both wintering in California. All these subspecies are similar in plumage, differing only in size.<ref name=Carboneras/>

{{anchor|flavirostris}}The very distinct Greenland white-fronted goose (''A. a. flavirostris'') breeding in western Greenland, is much darker overall, with only a very narrow white tip to the tail (broader on the other subspecies), more black barring on its belly and usually has an orange (not pink) bill. It winters in Ireland and western Scotland.

Birds breeding in the far east of Siberia east to Arctic Canada, wintering in the United States and Japan, have been described as ''A. a. frontalis'' on the basis of their slightly larger size and a marginally longer bill. Another putative East Asian subspecies (''A. a. albicans'') has also been described. A 2012 study has found that ''A. a. frontalis'' and ''A. a. albicans'' do not merit subspecies status, the former being synonymised with ''A. a. gambeli'' and the latter with the nominate subspecies; this study found that these forms had been named on the wintering grounds from specimens whose breeding grounds were unknown.<ref name=Banks/>

Ecological studies conducted in 2002 suggest the Greenland birds should probably be considered a separate species from ''A. albifrons''.<ref name=Fox2002/> Of particular interest is its unusually long period of parental care and association, which may last several years and can include grandparenting, possibly unique among the Anseriformes.

Hybridization with snow geese and Canada geese is occasionally observed.<ref>{{Cite book|edition=2nd|title=The Sibley guide to birds|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|date=2014|location=New York|isbn=978-0-307-95790-0|others=Scott & Nix (Firm)|first=David Allen|last=Sibley|pages=4}}</ref>.

==Distribution==  [[File:Anser albifrons MWNH 0945.JPG|thumb|Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden]]

The North American midcontinent birds of the subspecies ''A. a. gambeli'' – which in 2010 had a fall population around 710,000 birds – breeds from the Alaska North Slope across the western and central Canadian Arctic.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} The Pacific white-fronted goose of the American Pacific coast, which in 2010 numbered approximately 650,000 birds,{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} and the tule geese, which are estimated to number 10,000 birds, nest in western Alaska. The midcontinent geese gather in early fall on the prairies of western Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta, spending several weeks feeding before heading to wintering areas near the Gulf of Mexico, into northern Mexico.<ref name=DU/> The Pacific birds migrate south along the Pacific coast, staging primarily in the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California and wintering, eventually, in California's Central Valley.<ref name=DU/> The tule goose is somewhat rare and has been since the latter half of the 19th century;<ref name=Littlejohn1916/> presumably it was affected by destruction of its wintering habitat due to human settlement.<ref name=Carboneras/>

In the British Isles, two subspecies overwinter: Greenland birds in Scotland and Ireland, and Russian birds in England and Wales. They gather on farmland at favoured traditional sites, with a famous flock gathering at WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, England.<ref name=Slimbridge/> Greenland birds also overwinter in Ireland and from late September and through the winter, Ireland is home to almost 50% of the Greenland population of white-fronted geese.<ref name=Peatlands/>

''A. a. albifrons'' and ''A. a. flavirostis'' are among the taxa to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies.

== Behaviour and ecology ==

=== Breeding === Weather conditions are a key factor in the annual breeding success of white-fronted geese. In the Arctic, the window of opportunity for nesting, incubating eggs, and raising a brood to flight state is open briefly, for about three months. Arriving in late May or early June, white-fronted geese begin departing for fall staging areas in early September. This means that a delayed snowmelt or late spring storm can significantly reduce the birds' reproductive success.<ref name="DU" />

The white to tan colored eggs measure 8–8.3 cm (3.1–3.3 in) long and 5.3–5.4 cm (2.1 in) long. Clutch size can range from one to eight eggs, which are incubated for 22–27 days. Young will leave the nest within 24 hours of hatching.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greater White-fronted Goose Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_White-fronted_Goose/lifehistory |access-date=2026-05-29 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Origin of migration === Midcontinental white-fronted geese in North America have many breeding areas and each group in each breeding area differs in its migration time and wintering location. The six breeding areas include interior Alaska and Alaska's North Slope, western Northwest Territories, western Nunavut, central Nunavut, and eastern Nunavut. These spatial differences lead to different departure times for white-fronted geese leaving their breeding areas. Birds from interior Alaska start migrating earlier during autumn and fly farther south to winter.<ref name=Geography2013/> Due to their migration, white-fronted geese are commonly sought after by waterfowl hunters, all across the country.

A technique using stable isotope analysis from a white-fronted goose has shown promise in providing a way to determine the migratory route birds take from their wintering to breeding grounds.<ref name="Horacek2011" />

==Recognition== An art installation and sundial at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)'s Loch Lomond nature reserve in Scotland celebrates the birds' winter migratory visits to the area. Installed in 2023, it represents the white-fronted and other geese who winter there.<ref>Macmillan Hunter Sundials, [https://www.macmillanhunter.co.uk/skein-of-geese-art-installation-at-rspb-loch-lomond/ Skein of Geese Art Instalation at RSPB Loch Lomond], accessed on 31 May 2026</ref> The RSPB estimates that 1.3% of the world's population of Greenland White-fronted Geese can be found there each October.<ref>Favell, A., "Loch Lomond", in ''The RSPB Magazine'', Autumn/Winter 2025, page 52</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery widths="200" heights="200"> White-fronted.goose.750pix.jpg|European white-fronted goose (''A. a. albifrons'') at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre Anser albifrons in flight at Llano Seco.jpg|In flight Anser_albifrons_hm.jpg|Illustration from Hume and Marshall's ''Gamebirds of India, Burmah, and Ceylon'' Greater White-fronted Goose from the Crossley ID Guide Britain and Ireland.jpg|ID composite </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|35em|refs=

<ref name=DU>{{cite web |url=http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowl-id//white-fronted-goose |title=Ducks Unlimited, July/August 2011 |publisher=Ducks.org |access-date=27 February 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=AAB>{{Cite AllAboutBirds|Greater White-fronted Goose}}</ref>

<ref name=CRC>{{cite book |editor-last=Dunning |editor-first=John B. Jr. |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |publisher=CRC Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8493-4258-5 }}</ref>

<ref name=Perrins1987>{{cite book |title=New Generation Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe |url=https://archive.org/details/newgenerationgui00perr |url-access=limited |first1=Christopher M. |last1=Perrins |first2=David |last2=Attenborough |author-link2=David Attenborough |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |year=1987 |isbn=0-292-75532-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newgenerationgui00perr/page/n72 76]–77}}</ref>

<ref name=Kemp>{{cite journal |last=Kemp |first=John |year=2001 |title=Identification of Greenland White-fronted Goose |journal=Birding World |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=103–105}}</ref>

<ref name=Carboneras>{{Cite book |last=Carboneras |first=Carles |year=1992 |section=Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans) |editor-last1=del Hoyo |editor-first1=Josep |editor-last2=Elliott |editor-first2=Andrew |editor-last3=Sargatal |editor-first3=Jordi |series=Handbook of Birds of the World |title=1: Ostrich to Ducks |pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/536 536–629, plates 40–50] |publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona |isbn=84-87334-10-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/536 }}</ref>

<ref name=Banks>{{cite journal |last=Banks |first=R.C. |year=2011 |title=Taxonomy of Greater White-fronted Geese (Aves: Anatidae) |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=124 |issue=3 |pages=226–233 |doi=10.2988/11-14.1|s2cid=85077293 }}</ref>

<ref name=Fox2002>{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=A.D. |last2=Stroud |first2=D.A. |year=2002 |title=Greenland White-fronted Goose |journal=Birds of the Western Palearctic Update |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=65–88}}</ref>

<ref name=Littlejohn1916>{{cite journal |last=Littlejohn |first=Chase |year=1916 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/node/95819 |title=Some unusual records for San Mateo County, California. Minutes of Cooper Club Meetings |journal=Condor |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages= 38–40 |doi=10.2307/1362896|jstor=1362896 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<ref name=Slimbridge>{{cite web |title=Slimbrdge Seasonal Birding Guide – Winter, January – March |publisher=Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Limited |year=2011 |url=http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/slimbridge/things-to-see-and-do/slimbridge-seasonal-birding-guide/january-march/ |access-date=25 February 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

<ref name=Peatlands >{{cite web |url=http://www.peatlandsni.gov.uk/wildlife/birds/g_wf_goose.htm |title=Peatlands |publisher=Peatlandsni.gov.uk |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030082226/http://www.peatlandsni.gov.uk/wildlife/birds/g_wf_goose.htm |archive-date=30 October 2010 }}</ref>

<ref name=Geography2013>{{cite journal |last1=Ely |first1=Craig R. |last2=Nieman |first2=Daniel J. |last3=Alisauskas |first3=Ray T. |last4=Schmutz |first4=Joel A. |last5=Hines |first5=James E. |year=2013 |title=Geographic variation in migration chronology and winter distribution of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=77 |issue=6 |pages=1182–1191 |doi=10.1002/jwmg.573|bibcode=2013JWMan..77.1182E |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1229275 }}</ref>

<ref name=Horacek2011>{{cite journal |last1=Horacek |first1=Micha |year=2011 |title=Backtracking the movements of a migratory bird: a case study of a white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) |journal=Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry |volume=25 |issue=20 |pages=3146–3150 |doi=10.1002/rcm.5209|pmid=21953970 |bibcode=2011RCMS...25.3146H }}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Commons category|Anser albifrons}} {{Wikispecies|Anser albifrons}} * [https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/white-fronted-goose/ White-fronted goose facts] on the website of RSPB * [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_White-fronted_Goose Greater white-fronted goose] at "All About Birds" (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080312033804/http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1710id.html White-fronted Goose – ''Anser albifrons''] – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * {{EBirdSpecies|gwfgoo|Greater White-fronted Goose}} * {{VIREO|Greater+white-fronted+goose}} * {{IUCN_Map|22679881/213839615|Anser albifrons}}

Category:Anser (bird) Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Birds described in 1769 Category:Birds of the Arctic Category:Geese Category:Holarctic birds Category:Natural Monuments of Japan Category:Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Category:Least concern biota of the United States