NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Greater White-fronted Goose
Anser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
A greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) in flight at the Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Butte County, California
Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) is a species of goose, 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. It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill; its specific name albifrons comes from the Latin albus "white" and frons "forehead". 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. 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Greater white-fronted goose; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:51:01.908753+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769)
- Name authority
- (Scopoli, 1769)
- Common name
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Anser
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae Leach, 1820
- genusAnser Brisson, 1760
- speciesAnser albifrons (Scopoli, 1769)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anser. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus Baillon, 1834 | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bar-headed GooseAnser indicus (Latham, 1790) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ross's GooseAnser rossii Cassin, 1861 | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Emperor GooseAnser canagicus (Sevastianov, 1802) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser White-fronted GooseAnser erythropus (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bean GooseAnser fabalis (Latham, 1787) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue GooseAnser caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Swan GooseAnser cygnoides (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Graylag GooseAnser anser (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Middle America
North America
Oceania
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175020 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:679WV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.