Identification Tips:
Length: 20 inches Wingspan: 60 inches
Sexes similar
Medium-sized long-necked goose
Adult
Mostly brown plumage
White patch at base of pink or orange bill
Irregular black spots on belly
White line separating belly from wings
White under and uppertail coverts, dark tail
Orange legs and feet
Immature:
Mostly brown plumage darker on the upperparts
Yellowish bill, legs, and feet
Similar species:
The White-fronted Goose is the only goose with irregular black spots on the belly and a white patch at the base of the bill. Immatures lack these marks and could be confused with immature blue phase Snow Geese but they have yellowish rather than dark bills, legs, and feet. Escaped domesticated geese can be similar.
Migrates chiefly in the Central and Pacific flyways but also present in the Mississippi. Rare in the Atlantic Flyway. Appears brownish gray at a distance. Often called "specklebelly". Most distinctive characteristic of the V-shaped flocks is the high pitched call kow-kow-kow-kow.