Species:

Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)

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Length (cm):
115-127
53-66
Wingspan (cm):
180-211
120-135
Weight (gram):
3400-7800
1600-2500
Size group:
Bigger than a crow
Bigger than a crow
Main Texts:
Appearance:

Easily confused with Whooper Swan, but yellow on bill restricted to a rounded patch. May sometimes extend towards the bill-tip, but never beyond nostrils. Angle of mouth bold black. Gives a more compact impression than Whooper, due to shorter neck. Head shape noticeably more rounded, and seemingly larger. Juveniles paler grey than Whooper, with the same bill pattern as in adults, but in faint, pale yellow and pink. Flight easy and goose-like.

Sound:

More vocal than other swans. Both higher pitched and deeper sounds. Birds on the water often gives crooning, crane-like notes with less defined pitch. Tone is less full-bodied in these calls. Flight call a deep, yelping, soft barking sound. Each call short, with a "helpless" quality.

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

CC

CC-sound:Peter Boesman, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Adults with white front of head reaching crown, black markings on belly and obvious, swollen yellow eye-ring. Juveniles lacks white forehead and black markings on belly. The yellow eye-ring is also less noticeable. Note that White-fronted Goose may also show faint eye-ring, limited belly-markings and extended white front to head. Leaves a more "pure" impression than White-fronted, with evenly coloured plumage, rounded body, short neck, short bill and steep forehead. Primaries are longer than in other geese, and may extend past tail.

Sound:

Contact call a characteristic, trisyllabic, yelping "ka-dyl-lyt". First syllable often with a goose-like timbre, and second and third a continuous clearer sound, with a rapid lowering of pitch between syllables. Much higher pitched than other grey geese.

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

CC

CC-photo:Stefan Berndtsson, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Sibylle Stofer, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Fenners1984, Licence,Link.

CC-sound:Antero Lindholm. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/243944.

Similar species (image):
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