Sunday 17 April 2011

White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)

OTHER NAMES: Greater White-fronted Goose, Greater Whitefront, Specklebelly
Latin Etymology: Anser ("goose") albifrons ("white-forehead")

Adult White-fronted Goose (subspecies A. a. flaviostris - "Greenland White-Fronted Goose") at Keswick, Cumbria - April 2011

Featured Subspecies: Anser albifrons flaviostris
Weight: 1.9-3.3kg  /  Length: 64-81cm  /  Wingspan: 130-165cm
UK GREEN LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

White-fronted geese are a migrant species which turn up in various regions of the UK in Winter in large groups. This particular bird is a bit of an oddity - it was found with a mixed group of other geese grazing on a sheep field, on its own, outside normal wintering sites. It is of the Greenland race rather than the Siberian one - it can be identified by the orange rather than pink beak. Ordinarily however the best places to look for these birds would be in established Wintering sites.

Related Species:
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anser
Featured Subspecies: A. a. flavirostris, A. a. albifrons, A. a. elgasi, A. a. gambelli, A. a. sponsa

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - A local but fairly abundant Winter migrant (2,400 birds of subsoecies albifrons, 13,000 of subspecies flaviostris)
 - A single bird seen at Keswick in 2011 associating with Greylag Geese.

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