Bar-headed Goose

Bar-headed Goose

Anser indicus

Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Agra

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

148 Verified sightings at Agra
3,764 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Bar-headed Goose

The bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the Himalayas.

The bar-headed goose is basal in the grey goose genus Anser. The genus Anser has only one other member indigenous to the Indian region (greylag goose of the subspecies Anser anser rubrirostris, which also winters in the region), and none to the Ethiopian, Australian, or Neotropical regions. Ludwig Reichenbach placed the bar-headed goose in the monotypic genus Eulabeia in 1852, though other authorities treat both Eulabeia and the genus Chen as synonyms of Anser.

The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus Anser by the black bars on its otherwise white head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. A mid-sized goose, it measures 71–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length and weighs 1.87–3.2 kg (4.1–7.1 lb).

The... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:09

China · 2026

© Albert Lastukhin · XC1138372 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:55

Mongolia · 2025

© Richard E. Webster · XC1024869 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Nocturnal flight call0:15

Belgium · 2025

© Astrid Cervantes · XC992921 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~70%
2 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
3 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
4 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
5 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
6 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
8 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
10 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
11 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
12 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Agra 🇮🇳 India
~30%
2 Munich 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
3 Paris 🇫🇷 France
~10%
4 Beijing 🇨🇳 China
<5%
5 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
6 Tianjin 🇨🇳 China
<5%
7 New Delhi 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Chandigarh 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Nagpur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Ahmedabad 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Busch Gardens Tampa 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
4 Basel Zoo 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
5 Denver Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Cleveland Metroparks Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
7 Zürich Zoo 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
8 Dresden Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
9 Paris Zoological Park 🇫🇷 France In captivity
10 Parc Phœnix 🇫🇷 France In captivity
11 Réserve africaine de Sigean 🇫🇷 France In captivity
12 Chomutov Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
13 Zoologic park de Lille 🇫🇷 France In captivity
14 Parc des oiseaux 🇫🇷 France In captivity
15 Kaliningrad Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
16 Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée 🇫🇷 France In captivity
17 Zoobotánico Jerez 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
18 Zoo d'Amiens 🇫🇷 France In captivity
19 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
20 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
21 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
22 Curitiba Zoo 🇧🇷 Brazil In captivity
23 Beijing Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
24 Shanghai Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
25 Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
26 Banham Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
27 Zoo and Botanical Garden of Branféré 🇫🇷 France In captivity
28 Tehran Birds Garden 🇮🇷 Iran In captivity
29 西宁野生动物园 🇨🇳 China In captivity
30 Slimbridge Wetland Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
31 Cape May County Park & Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
32 Tama Zoological Park 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
33 Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park 🇮🇳 India In captivity
34 Antalya Zoo 🇹🇷 Türkiye In captivity
35 Parc animalier de Gramat 🇫🇷 France In captivity
36 Nanning Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
37 Kyiv Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity
38 Saint Louis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
39 Woodland Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
40 Wrocław Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
41 Temaikén 🇦🇷 Argentina In captivity
42 Night Safari 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
43 Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
44 Fort Worth Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
45 Belgorod Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
46 Memphis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
47 Metro Richmond Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
48 Singapore Zoo 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
49 Allwetterzoo Münster 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
50 Houston Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Bar-headed Goose in Agra?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-headed Goose sighting in Agra on a given day, based on 148 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 119 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Bar-headed Goose in Agra?

February

In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-headed Goose in Agra on a given day, against about 10% in January, May–July and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Agra's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 190 mm in July.

What time of day is best to see a Bar-headed Goose?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bar-headed Goose sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Agra the best place to see a Bar-headed Goose?

Yes

Of the 12 cities where we can rate Bar-headed Goose sightings, Agra has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Munich (Germany, about 20%) and Paris (France, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Bar-headed Goose live in Agra?

Same family: Anatidae

The closest relatives of the Bar-headed Goose that you can see in Agra (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Ruddy Shelduck (about 50%), Comb Duck (about 10%) and Common Shelduck (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Bar-headed Goose sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Bar-headed Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Agra (148 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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