Globe › Birds › Bar-headed goose
Bar-headed goose migration Anser indicus
▶ Follow the bar-headed goose across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
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| Scientific name | Anser indicus |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 150 cm |
| Adult weight | 2.505 kg (male), 2.23 kg (female) |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 99,099 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q191125 (CC0).
Migration in the data
99,099 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Central and South Asia, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in June (about 42°N) and furthest south in January (about 24°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Central and South Asia
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 24°N | 0% |
| February | 25°N | 0% |
| March | 25°N | 0% |
| April | 37°N | 0% |
| May | 42°N | 0% |
| June | 42°N | 0% |
| July | 42°N | 0% |
| August | 41°N | 0% |
| September | 40°N | 0% |
| October | 32°N | 0% |
| November | 26°N | 0% |
| December | 25°N | 0% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the bar-headed goose
The bar-headed goose 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Bar-headed goose” (revision 1365685923), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=2498035&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.