Lesser White-fronted Goose

The Lesser White-fronted Goose is part of the grey geese group, along with the Greylag Goose, Red-breasted Goose, Barnacle Goose, Tundra Bean Goose, and Egyptian Goose, a group so named due to the color of the upper plumage which contains more or less grey. It is very similar to the Red-breasted Goose (white face, pink beak, black ventral bars and orange legs) and its identification requires a minimum of attention. This is why the following description will be comparative. As in all grey geese, there is no sexual dimorphism.
The Lesser White-fronted Goose is monotypic (no subspecies). The adult is slightly smaller than the Red-breasted Goose, with a slightly shorter neck, a rounder head with a bulging white forehead effect, and a shorter beak, but this can be quite subjective. It is absolutely necessary to have a good view of the head. The adult has a white face that extends in a point at the front of the crown (rounded white on the forehead of the Red-breasted Goose), a clear yellow eye ring, even in birds of the first winter (no eye ring or a narrower and much less evident eye ring in the Red-breasted Goose) and a shorter, triangular shaped pink beak in side view.
The juvenile does not have a white face or black ventral bars; these characteristics only develop in the late winter or spring and some birds of the second year acquire them later. The nostrils are dark and the legs have less vivid orange.