Subspecies in India
Alternative Names: Lauging Goose.
Old Taxonomy: Branta albifrons Scopoli, 1789.
Subspecies in India: Anser albifrons albifrons (Scopoli, 1789).
Photo Gallery and Species Biology
Breeding Season: May to June, Extralimital (mainly Arctic coasts of Europe and Asia).
Nest: Nests made of twigs and grasses around marshes, lakes.
Eggs: 3-5 eggs.
Size:
Length: 66-86 cm, Weight: 2-3 kg,
Distinguishing Characters:
Adult: Ashy-brown overall, pink beak with broad white patch on the forehead (around the base of beak), black barrings on belly, dark rump, yellow legs.
Young/Immature: Overall duller, absence of the white patch around beak and forehead, yellow legs.
Similar Species in India:
Greylag Goose: Differs from Greater White-fronted by having pink beak, pink legs, absence of white patch around beak.
Lesser White-fronted Goose: Differs from Greater White-fronted by having a yellow eye-ring and small size.
Bean Goose: Differs from Greater White-fronted by having overall darker colouration, black beak with yellow spot.
It is usually seen along with the larger gregarious flocks of Greylag and Bar-headed Geese. Greater White-fronted geese occur in 2s or 4s in such flocks. Usually active early in the day, resting during afternoon and active again by evening.
Foraging Behaviour: Diet is largely herbivorous, feeding on grasses and sometimes feeding on small crustaceans, amphibians, molluscs and fishes.
Call/Song: Loud high-pitched musical disyllabic honking.
Migration Status: Strongly Migratory, a sparse and a rare winter visitor in India and mainly in the northern and central regions.
IUCN Status: Least Concern.
| State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | |||||||||||||
| Andhra Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Arunachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Assam | |||||||||||||
| Bihar | |||||||||||||
| Chandigarh | |||||||||||||
| Chhattisgarh | |||||||||||||
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | |||||||||||||
| Daman & Diu | |||||||||||||
| Delhi | |||||||||||||
| Goa | |||||||||||||
| Gujarat | |||||||||||||
| Haryana | |||||||||||||
| Himachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Jammu and Kashmir | |||||||||||||
| Jharkhand | |||||||||||||
| Karnataka | |||||||||||||
| Kerala | |||||||||||||
| Lakshadweep | |||||||||||||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Maharashtra | |||||||||||||
| Manipur | |||||||||||||
| Meghalaya | |||||||||||||
| Mizoram | |||||||||||||
| Nagaland | |||||||||||||
| Odisha | |||||||||||||
| Paschimbanga | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Pondicherry | |||||||||||||
| Punjab | |||||||||||||
| Rajasthan | |||||||||||||
| Sikkim | |||||||||||||
| Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||
| Tripura | |||||||||||||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Uttarakhand | |||||||||||||
| West Bengal | |||||||||||||
| Total | 1 |
1. Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Washington, DC.
2. Ali, S., and S. D. Ripley. 1978. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan: Together with those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
3. Stuart Baker, E. C. 1933. The Nidification of Birds of the Indian Empire. Taylor And Francis.
Page citation
Anonymous 2024. Anser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769) – Greater White-fronted Goose. In Satose, V., A. Bayani, V. Ramachandran, P. Roy, and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 2.17. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.birdsofindia.org/anser-albifrons, accessed 2024/05/23.