Lesser White-fronted Goose
| Lesser White- Fronted Goose | ||||||||||||||
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| Anser erythropus |
It breeds in northernmost Asia, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction scheme in Fennoscandia.
The Lesser White-fronted Goose winters further south in Europe and is a very rare vagrant to Great Britain.
The two white-fronted goose species differ little other than in size (the lesser is not much bigger than a mallard Anas platyrhynchus) but both may be readily distinguished from the Greylag Goose by their bright orange legs and their mouse-coloured upper wing-coverts. The Greylag Goose has the bill and legs flesh-coloured, and the upper wing-coverts of a bluish-grey.
Both white-front species have a very conspicuous white face and broad black bars which cross the belly.
Adult Lesser White-fronted Geese, as well as being smaller than White-fronted Geese, have an obvious yellow eye-ring, and the white facial blaze goes up to the crown.
Lesser White-fronted Goose is considered an endangered species.
