Greater white-fronted goose

Greater white-fronted goose
A greater white-fronted goose during migration in the Central Valley of California
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anser
Species:
A. albifrons
Binomial name
Anser albifrons
(Scopoli, 1769)
Subspecies
  • A. a. albifrons
    European white-fronted goose (Scopoli, 1769)
  • A. a. frontalis
    Pacific white-fronted goose (Baird, 1858)
  • A. a. gambeli
    Gambel's white-fronted goose (Hartlaub, 1852)
  • A. a. elgasi
    Tule goose (Delacour & Ripley, 1975) (disputed)
  • A. a. flavirostris
    Greenland white-fronted goose (Dalgety & (Scott, 1948)
Distribution map of subspecies of greater white-fronted goose
Synonyms

Branta albifrons Scopoli, 1769

Greater white-fronted goose in California
Greater white-fronted geese, Texel, Netherlands (2013)
A. a. flavirostris, the Greenland subspecies

The greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) is a species of goose that is closely related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (A. erythropus). The greater white-fronted goose is migratory, breeding in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia, and winters farther south in North America, Europe and Asia.[1] It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill: albifrons comes from the Latin albus "white" and frons "forehead".[2] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it has been known as the white-fronted goose; in North America it is known as the greater white-fronted goose (or "greater whitefront"), and this name is also increasingly adopted internationally.[1] Even more distinctive are the salt-and-pepper markings on the breast of adult birds, which is why the goose is colloquially called the "specklebelly" in North America.

  1. ^ a b c BirdLife International (2016). "Anser albifrons". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679881A85980652. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679881A85980652.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 38, 48. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.