Anser indicus
Silhouette: Rebecca Groom · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Busch Gardens Tampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 5 | Denver Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Cleveland Metroparks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 8 | Dresden Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Paris Zoological Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Parc Phœnix | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Réserve africaine de Sigean | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Chomutov Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 13 | Zoologic park de Lille | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | Kaliningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 16 | Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | Zoobotánico Jerez | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 18 | Zoo d'Amiens | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | Curitiba Zoo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 23 | Beijing Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 24 | Shanghai Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 25 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Banham Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 27 | Zoo and Botanical Garden of Branféré | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 28 | Tehran Birds Garden | 🇮🇷 Iran | |
| 29 | 西宁野生动物园 | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 30 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 31 | Cape May County Park & Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Tama Zoological Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 33 | Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 34 | Antalya Zoo | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | |
| 35 | Parc animalier de Gramat | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 36 | Nanning Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 37 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 38 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 39 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 41 | Temaikén | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 42 | Night Safari | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 43 | Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 44 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 45 | Belgorod Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 46 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | Metro Richmond Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 48 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 49 | Allwetterzoo Münster | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 50 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-headed Goose sighting in Nagarhole National Park on a given day, based on 61 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 170th most-seen of the 272 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-headed Goose in Nagarhole National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to November, the lowest months. That is one of Nagarhole National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 270 mm in July.
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.
5th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Bar-headed Goose sightings, Nagarhole National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kaziranga National Park (India, about 70%), Keoladeo National Park (India, about 60%) and Satpura National Park (India, about 10%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Bar-headed Goose that you can see in Nagarhole National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Indian Spot-billed Duck (about 20%) and Lesser Whistling-Duck (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bar-headed Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Nagarhole National Park (61 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
