The Greater White-fronted Goose is a medium-sized gray-brown goose named for the band of white feathering around the base of its bill (the "white front"), set off by a pinkish-orange bill and bright orange legs; adults also show irregular black barring across the belly that gives the bird its folk name, "speckle-belly." Its call is a distinctive, musical, laughing yelp, higher and more melodious than the honk of a Canada Goose, and flocks in flight are often detected by this laughing chorus before they are seen.
Greater White-fronted Geese breed on the Arctic tundra and winter to the south, and in Michigan they pass through as migrants in spring and fall, usually in modest numbers and often mixed in among the abundant Canada Geese on flooded fields, marshes, large lakes, and grain fields. Picking a white-fronted goose out of a Canada Goose flock — by its smaller size, orange bill and legs, white face, and barred belly — is a rewarding challenge, and their laughing calls overhead are a welcome sound of the migration seasons.
Grazes on grasses, sedges, waste grain, and aquatic plants, feeding in flocks on flooded fields, marshes, and grain fields much like other geese. It clips green vegetation and gleans spilled grain, building reserves for its long migration to and from the Arctic.
The "white front" refers to the band of white feathering around the base of the bill. "Speckle-belly" is a folk name for the irregular black barring across the adult's belly.
Look for a smaller, grayer-brown goose with a white face patch, a pinkish-orange bill, orange legs, and black belly barring. Its higher, laughing call also stands out from the Canada Goose's deeper honk.
As a migrant in spring and fall, usually in modest numbers, often mixed with Canada Geese on flooded fields, marshes, large lakes, and grain fields. It breeds on the Arctic tundra and does not nest in the state.
Because it is a juvenile. Young birds lack both the white forehead blaze and the black belly bars, showing only the orange legs and pinkish bill; both marks come in over their first winter.
A gaggle when grounded and a skein when flying. Their high, laughing calls carry a long way and often reveal a few birds tucked into a much bigger goose flock.
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