Anser indicus (Latham, 1790) - Bar-headed Goose

Subspecies in India


Old Taxonomy: Anas indicus Latham, 1790
 

Photo Gallery and Species Biology


Breeding Season: Late May-June, in Ladakh on the high plateau lakes at c. 4300 meters elevation.

Nest:  Slight depression in the ground thickly padded with vegetation, among marshes, on ground near islands, beside freshwater or saline lakes.

Eggs: 4–6 eggs, ivory white colour, size eggs 84.4 x 55.1 mm.


Size: 71–76 cm.

Distinguishing characters:

Adult: Slender, pale grey, brown, and white goose; Pale grey with white face, white stripe down each side of brown neck, dark hindneck and lower flanks, two dark bars on hindcrown. Bill and legs yellow, bill-tip black.
Young/Immature: Paler, lacks the dark bars on hindcrown, hindneck and hindcrown are dusky brown, beak and feet are greenish-yellow.  

Similar species in India: None. It is a very distinct (morphologically) species and cannot be confused any other species that occurs in India.
 


It is a gregarious species, forming family parties of 5 or 6 and flock of 100 or more. It is crepuscular and nocturnal, mainly foraging in the night, however, can be seen active during daytime.

Foraging Behaviour: Extensively herbivorous diet that consists of grasses, roots, stems and green parts of plants berries, insects and small crustacea. It is known to cause serious damage to winter crops in many regions (pers. obs.)

Call/Song: Slow honking sounds but more nasal and musical

Migration Status: Migratory, wintering (November to March) at much lower elevations throughout India preferring
 lowland swamps, lakes and rivers. It is often seen along with Greylag Goose.


IUCN Status: Least Concern

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam11
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka2
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh111
Maharashtra154
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha2
Paschimbanga2
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan233
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh1
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total6111111


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.

4. BirdLife International. 2018. Anser indicusThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22679893A131908564

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Anser indicus (Latham, 1790) – Bar-headed 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-indicus, accessed 2024/11/10.