The Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) is a species of goose named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill. In fact the word albifrons in its scientific name comes from the Latin albus "white" and frons " forehead". In Europe this species 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. 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.
Greater white-fronted geese have bright orange legs and mouse-colored upper wing-coverts. They are smaller than greylag geese. As well as being larger than the lesser white-fronted goose, the greater white-fronted goose lacks the yellow eye-ring of that species, and the white facial blaze does not extend upwards so far as in the lesser. The male is typically larger in size, 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 and orange legs and feet.
The Greater white-fronted goose is divided into five subspecies. The nominate subspecies, the European white-fronted goose breeds in the far north of Europe and Asia and winters further south and west in Europe. Three other restricted-range races occur in northern North America: Gambel's white-fronted goose in interior northwestern Canada and wintering on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico; the Pacific white-fronted goose and the Tule goose in southwest Alaska, both wintering in California. The very distinct Greenland white-fronted goose breeds in western Greenland; it winters in Ireland and western Scotland. Birds breeding in the far east of Siberia east to Arctic Canada winter in the United States and Japan. 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. There are 6 breeding areas, including interior Alaska, the North Slope of Alaska, western Northwest Territories, western Nunavut, central Nunavut, and eastern Nunavut. Greater white-fronted geese breed in open shrubby tundra near marshes, lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams. On their wintering grounds, these birds prefer open steppe, grassland, wet meadows, fields, brackish and freshwater bogs, floodplains, and sheltered bays or in estuaries.
Greater white-fronted geese are diurnal and gregarious birds. They usually spend time in loose groups and outside the breeding period and molt may form large flocks of up to 30,000 individuals. After a molt period that lasts for around 25 days, flocks gather to migrate south to their wintering grounds. Greater white-fronted geese usually migrate at night. They make a variation of sounds, but notably the most recognizable is the high-pitched cackle that can be imitated by the sounds 'he-he.'
Greater white-fronted geese are herbivores (graminivores, granivores, frugivores). They eat primarily grasses, roots, leaves, sedges, stems, herbs, berries, grain, and plant tubers.
Greater white-fronted geese are monogamous and form lifelong pairbonds. They nest on the ground near lakes and wetland areas and each pair defends their nesting site. The female lays up to 8 eggs and incubates them for 22-27 days. The goslings hatch with their eyes open and covered in down. They can leave the nest approximately 24 hours after hatching. Goslings usually remain with their parents for at least one year and may stay for a longer to help their parents defend the nest and new brood. They become reproductively mature at 2.5-3 years of age and leave their family.
Greater white-fronted geese are threatened by intense hunting which causes mortality and disturbance at staging and molting sites during migration. They also suffer from poisoning by pesticides used on agricultural land, changes in climate, oil pollution, habitat destruction and degradation, and human disturbance.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Greater white-fronted goose is 5,000,000-5,999,999 mature individuals. The European breeding population consists of 280,000-331,000 pairs, which equates to 560,000-662,000 mature individuals. Across its North American range, the population size is 4,300,000 mature individuals. In East Asia, the population across South Korea, Japan, and China is thought to number 231,000-283,000 individuals or around 154,000-189,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
