Species

Greater white-fronted goose

Anser albifrons

A brown goose with a white face patch and orange legs, found in Georgia in small numbers each winter.

Photo Frank Schulenburg (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Migration

At a glance

Size: About 64 to 78 cm long
Weight: About 1.9 to 3.3 kg
Habitat: Fields, marshes and reservoirs in winter
Diet: Grasses, grain, seeds and roots
In Georgia: An uncommon winter visitor, often with Canada geese
Voice: A high, laughing "kah-lah-a-luck"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Grey-brown body; white band at the base of a pink or orange bill; black bars across the belly; bright orange legs
Told apart from: Canada goose, which has a black neck and white chinstrap
Told apart from: Farm geese of the greylag type, which are heavier, paler and lack the black belly bars
Where to look: With Canada geese on reservoirs and in fields, November to March

Behaviour

White-fronted geese graze in fields and roost on open water. They are wary, and flocks rise at the first sign of danger with a high, laughing chorus. Families stay together through winter and migrate as a unit.

Why they matter

These geese breed across the Arctic of both North America and Eurasia, and those that reach Georgia have usually come from the far north of Canada or Alaska. Their lifelong family bonds are among the strongest in waterfowl: young learn migration routes and stopover places by travelling with their parents.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A shallow bowl lined with down, on tundra near water
Eggs — Usually four to six
Incubation — About 23 to 25 days
Goslings — Leave the nest within a day
Flight — At about six to seven weeks
Family — Young stay with their parents for their first year
Lifespan — Wild birds over twenty years are recorded

Living around people

Wild white-fronted geese are wary and keep their distance from people; one that lets you walk up to it may be ill or injured.
Domestic geese with a white face look similar but are heavier and do not fly.

Misconceptions

Any brown goose is a domestic one. Wild white-fronted geese reach Georgia every winter.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering in small numbers	Wintering	Migrating north	Moving north through the prairies	Nesting in the Arctic	Goslings hatch	Adults moult and cannot fly for a time	Young learn to fly	Migration south begins	Flocks passing through the plains	First arrivals in the Southeast	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 39 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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