
This goose, which gets is name from the white feathering around the base of the bill, has at least three visually distinct forms that occur in North America. On adults, the upperparts vary from dark earth-brown to gray-brown with variable pale margins on the mantle, scapulars, and coverts creating a slightly frosted look. Foreneck and upper breast is paler buffy brown become darker on the lower breast and belly, which shows highly variable amounts of black speckling, hence most hunters refer to them as "speckle bellies."
Extensive black speckling on the lower breast and belly does not appear until a bird is at least two years old (after the first prebasic molt). Second-year birds normally show only modest speckling below. The face darkens to black towards the bill, framing the white feathering around the base of the bill. The tail is blackish with a white terminal band. When sitting, they show a distinctive horizontal white line along flanks and white on the undertail and vent. Adults have a mostly pink bill and the legs and feet are orange.
Hatch-year and first-winter birds are highly variable due to a protracted Nov-Feb preformative molt that takes place on the wintering grounds. Late summer/early fall juveniles are paler and slightly buffier than adults and showing no black speckling below. In late summer and early fall they have no white, just dark brown around the base of the bill and they have a very scaly appearance–juvenile body, mantle and covert feathers are smaller and more rounded than those of adults. Their bills are mostly orange to yellow-orange with minimal if any pink and their legs tend to be washed out and not as bright orange as an adults. The bill nail starts out dark and fades to pale whitish by late winter. Mid-to-late winter birds tend to look a bit disheveled and patchy as larger, broad, square-tipped formative body feathers grow in and replace the small rounded juvenile feathers. During the preformative molt white facial feathering and varying amounts of dark-brown to blackish feathers (frames white) appear around the base of the bill. By late winter/early spring the face pattern will look like that of an adult. The amount of black on the belly of second-year birds varies from some to none at all. Many Greater White-fronted Geese do not show any black speckling on their belly until they go through their first prebasic molt (not counting preformative molt as a prebasic molt).
The rare "Tule" Greater White-fronted Goose (subspecies "elgasi") breeds in Alaska and winters along the Pacific Flyway, where it can be identified by its larger size, longer neck, and darker brown head and neck. Along the Atlantic Coast, the Greenland subspecies ("flavirostris") is a rare winter visitor. In all plumages, it is darker and has a colder sooty-gray appearance compared to the other North American forms. The Greenland population is comparatively short-legged and even adults have an orangish bill.
Length: 65 (cm) Wingspan: 130 (cm)
Voice:
The loud call is a high-pitched yelping consisting of two or three syllables. The sound of flocks passing overhead has a laughing quality. When a singleton White-fronted gets mixed in with Canada or Cackling Geese, its much louder call can typically be heard over the din of other geese.
Habitat:
Tundra, freshwater marshes, agricultural fields.
Behavior:
High-flying migrant flocks form broad flat arcs that overlap rather than classic V-shaped flocks seen in migrant Canada and Cackling Geese. Stray or injured singletons often join ranks with flocks of exotic "park geese."
Feeding:
Forages for plants and grains in marshes and fields.
Field Notes

In the Pacific Northwest the northbound (Spring) and southbound (Fall) flights of this species tend to occur in very predictable and narrow calendar windows. The peak northbound movements traditionally pass through western Oregon between 20 April and 10 May, with the largest flight almost always falling on or about the 23-26 of April. In Fall, the mass southbound movement typically falls about the last week of September. Over the last five days (it's 1 October 2011) there have been widespread reports of large flocks passing over the Willamette Valley.
Citation: Personal Experience. I observe this regularly, highly confident.

One way to separate migrant flocks of high-flying of Greater White-fronted Geese from other species is their flock shape. Unless you can hear them call, distant flocks of White-fronts and Cackling Geese are near impossible to separate visually. However, while Cackling Geese tend to form classic "V-shaped" flocks that are long and strung-out from front to back, flocks of White-fronts often appear less organized, broader, and more arc-shaped across the front. They often form several sub-groups of overlapping arcs, without the obvious V-shape seen in the white-cheeked goose species (Cacklers and Canadas).
Citation: Personal Experience. I observe this regularly, highly confident.
Expanded Life History
Feed Ecology And Diet | Contribute Content |
Nesting Habits | Contribute Content |
Migration Status | Contribute Content |
Conservation Status | Contribute Content |
Local Sites to Spot | Contribute Content |
Abundance Status | Contribute Content |
Adult Male Description | Contribute Content |
Adult Female Description | Contribute Content |
ITIS Taxonomic Number | Contribute Content |
Sonogram | Contribute Content |
Courtship | Contribute Content |
Reproductive Characteristics | Contribute Content |
Relationship to Humans | Contribute Content |
ID Tips - Size & Shape | Contribute Content |
ID Tips - Color & Pattern | Contribute Content |
ID Tips - Habitat | Contribute Content |
ID Tips - Behavior | Contribute Content |
ID Tips - Wingspan | Contribute Content |
ID Tips - Weight | Contribute Content |
Breeding | Contribute Content |
Cool Facts | Contribute Content |
Local Knowledge | Contribute Content |
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Sightings
Date | Submitted By | Count |
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08/07/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | 1 |
08/07/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | 1 |
07/24/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
07/24/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
07/17/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | 1 |
07/17/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | 1 |
07/10/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | 1 |
07/10/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | 1 |
05/22/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
04/08/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
04/08/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
04/08/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
04/03/18 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
08/15/17 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
08/15/17 | Steven Mauvais, OR | # |
Recent Activity
Activity | Date & Time |
---|---|
Steven Mauvais added Greater White-fronted Goose to their Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge smart list | 1/10/2012 at 2:28PM |
Dave Irons added a note to Greater White-fronted Goose Notes | 10/01/2011 at 9:30AM |
Dave Irons added a note to Greater White-fronted Goose Notes | 10/01/2011 at 9:25AM |
Dave Irons added Greater White-fronted Goose to their Woods County Pk./Martella Pastures, Woods, OR smart list | 4/13/2011 at 8:33AM |