Greater White-fronted Goose is a medium-sized, stocky brown goose measuring 28 inches in length with a 53 inches wingspan and weighing 1.9–3.1 kg. Adults show a distinctive semicircular white patch at the base of their pinkish-orange bill, bright orange legs, and “salt-and-pepper” barring on the pale breast. Breeding on Arctic tundra, they migrate south in large flocks to wintering grounds in open wetlands, lakes, and agricultural fields, departing roost sites at dawn to feed in nearby croplands while uttering their high-pitched cackling calls.
In Arizona, Greater White-fronts are an uncommon but regular migrant and winter visitor from roughly October through March. They most often appear in small numbers intermixed with Canada and Snow Geese, foraging in flooded fields, pond margins, and recharge basins. Key localities include Gilbert Water Ranch, Glendale Recharge Ponds, and Whitewater Draw, as well as various sites along the Lower Colorado River Valley, where careful scanning for their pink bills and speckled breasts can reward patient birders.
