Greater White-Fronted Goose
Anser albifrons
Also known as: White-Fronted Goose
Habitat
Ground
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
2.5 kg
About This Species
A medium-sized grey-brown goose with a white face patch and dark belly barring, usually seen grazing in large flocks on grasslands, stubble fields and marshes near open water. It feeds mainly by day but is also active at dawn and dusk, and the best viewing is in late autumn and winter when migratory flocks gather at traditional roosting wetlands and adjacent farmland. Listen for its high, laughing calls overhead as flocks commute between roost and feeding grounds.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- View feeding and roosting flocks from a distance using binoculars or a scope rather than walking into fields where geese are grazing, since flushed flocks burn significant energy and may abandon a good feeding site.
- Migratory waterfowl are protected under hunting and wildlife regulations that vary by country and season, including closed seasons and refuge areas, so check local rules before visiting known roosts.
- Stay on paths and avoid approaching roost sites at dawn or dusk when birds are most concentrated and easily disturbed.
LCAvesAnseriformesAnatidae
Seasonal Activity
1,464,673 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 2.5 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.