White-fronted goose

    Anser albifrons

Castilian: Ánsar careto grande

Catalan: Oca riallera gossa

Gallego: Ganso de testa branca

Euskera: Antzara muturzuria

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Migratory status: Winter resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

This species does not belong to any protection category.

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THREATS

Hunting, changes in farming systems and lead poisoning are some of the problems.

Length / size: 64-78cm / 130-160 cm

Identification: Brown-coloured bird with white-edged back feathers, with black bands on its belly, orange legs, and a characteristic white spot on its forehead and on the base of its bill.

Song: It sounds sounds like high-pitched laughter.

Diet: It feeds on tubers, seeds, stalks and leaves which it cuts with its bill, as if it were a pair of scissors.

Reproduction: Breeding takes place before post-mating migration, between June and September. The female builds the nest on the ground with scraps of plant matter, on top of a mound, while the male guards the area. The chicks can move about shortly after bird and feed themselves.

HABITAT

In order to sleep, it occupies wet areas, like lakes or ponds, and farmland and pastureland in order to eat.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: Most sightings have taken place in the northern third of the peninsula, in places like the lakes in Villafáfila and the wetlands in Asturias, Vizcaya, Gerona and Zaragoza.

In Castile and León: It is distributed rarely in Villafáfila (Zamora) and La Nava lake (Palencia).

Movements and migrations: Between late August and early September, the migration from the nothern breeding areas to the wintering areas in central Europe begins, with the specimens returning again between March and May.

POPULATION

In Spain: Scattered specimens or small flocks are observed.

In Castile and León: