Species:

Goosander (Mergus merganser)

White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)

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Length (cm):
58-66
65-78
Wingspan (cm):
82-97
130-165
Weight (gram):
900-2100
1800-3100
Size group:
Bigger than a crow
Bigger than a crow
Main Texts:
Appearance:

Largest sawbill. Male: white to pinkish white plumage with black back and dark green head. Female with grey body and brown head. Sharp division between brown head and whitish breast, together with contrasting white chin, distinguishes it from female Red-breasted Merganser. Both sexes with hook at tip of bill, dense crest and swollen base of bill. Wing-bars all white. Flight silhouette more diver-like than duck-like.

Sound:

Male: Mostly heard when courting. A twanging, disyllabic "whip-ooooo", first syllable ascending and second whistle-like and rapidly falling. Female: A coarse "ahrrr ahrrrr", or a raspy drawn "ah-ahrrrrrr ah-ahrrrrr", slightly rising, then falling in pitch. Also various cackling sounds.

Display-call male:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Paul Driver,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Orange legs and all pink bill without markings. Adults with white bill base and black markings on belly. Juveniles lacking those characters. Body shape and head more angular than other geese. Could be confused with Lesser White-fronted Goose, but Lesser have an obvious yellow eye-ring, and much more white around bill base. Wings more narrow than other grey geese.

Sound:

Similar to Bean- and Greylag Goose, but higher pitched, more musical, often disyllabic and with a laughing quality. Far from as high pitched as Lesser White-fronted Goose.

Contact call:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Volker Arnold,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Similar species (sound):
Silhouette Group:
Duck-like
Silhouette
Duck-like
Silhouette
Several different images of the species
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Several different sounds of the species
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file