Bar-headed Goose - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Yeshey Dorji
Babesa, Thimphu, Bhutan, June, 2005

Identification

68-78 cm (26¾-30¾ in)

Juvenile between two adults
Photo by Alok Tewari
Dighal Village, Dist. Jhajjar, Haryana, India, November-2014

Alpine lakes in central Asia; winters to India and Burma.
Migration takes them high over the Himalayas.

European populations are generally escaped captive birds.

This is a monotypic species^[1].

They breed near high altitude lakes. Wintering on salt and fresh water marshes, grazing in grassland and wetlands.

They lay 3-8 eggs in a ground nest.

In summer the diet includes grass; in winter they feed on barley, rice and wheat.

Photo by alibenn
Lashi Lake, Yunnan, China, December 2005

<flashmp3>bar_headed_goose_call.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Alok Tewari
National Chambal Sanctuary (Uttar Pradesh), Morena, M.P. Division, India Jan-2014
Call recorded as a flock flew over-head during boat-safari.

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Wikipedia
Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
BF Member observations

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Bar-headed Goose. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bar-headed_Goose