With recent sightings of Greater White-fronted Goose here in n.w. Ohio,
there has been some off-list discussion of the identification of the
Greenland subspecies, A. a. flavirostris.

This is a topic that has tripped up a lot of observers in various parts of
North America.  The problem is that no current field guide has an adequate
treatment of the subject, and most fail to indicate just how rare this
subspecies is on this continent.  This bird nests in Greenland and winters
in the U.K., primarily in Ireland, migrating back and forth across the North
Atlantic.  Any individuals that make it to the mainland of North America are
extremely off course.  This subspecies ought to show up in Ohio about as
often as Fieldfare, Common Redshank, or European Golden-Plover (i.e., it's
not impossible, but it hasn't happened yet).

Most field guide treatments focus on the idea that the Greenland race has an
orange bill, while other White-fronts in North America are more pink-billed.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work in the field.  As I described in an article
in Birding magazine in the 1990s, I tried an experiment for a few years
while I was leading tours and teaching workshops in the western U.S.: when
we had a good look at a flock of White-fronts, I would ask the birders to
describe the bill color of the birds.  This usually resulted in some
argument, but generally at least half the group would say the geese had
orange bills.  Does this mean that Greenland geese were flooding the
continent, as far west as California?  No, it just means that White-fronts
in North America have orange-pink or pinkish-orange bills, and that
observers vary in their perceptions of these colors.

The difference is more clear-cut in Europe, where the common subspecies of
Greater White-front is definitely pink-billed and thus more obviously
different from the Greenland form.  In North America, bill color is very
tricky, and other differences (like the amount of black on the belly or the
tinge of gray in the plumage) are highly variable.  So sight identifications
of Greenland birds can hardly be considered reliable on this continent.
Unless there are actual specimens that I haven't heard about, I would
suggest that the Greenland White-front is not known to occur in Ohio at all,
and that any possible sightings of such birds should be followed up and
documented as one would with any potential first state record.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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