Snow Goose

Snow Goose, adult, white-morph

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Snow Goose, juvenile (left) and adult; white-morph; NM; Dec.

Snow Goose, adult, blue-morph

Snow Goose, juvenile, blue-morph

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A medium-sized goose that breeds on the arctic tundra, the Snow Goose travels south in very large, high-flying, noisy flocks. The swirling white of a descending flock suggests snow, but among the white birds are darker individuals. Until recently, the Blue Geese, as the dark birds were called, were considered a separate species. They are now recognized as merely a dark form (or "morph") of the Snow Goose.

Description

• Medium-sized goose.
• Black patch on bill edges, the "grinning patch" or "smile."
• Two color forms.
• White morph: White all over, except for black primaries.
• Blue morph: White head and front of neck, body dark gray-brown.

• Size: 69-83 cm (27-33 in)
• Wingspan: 138 cm (54 in)
• Weight: 1600-3300 g (56.48-116.49 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, male larger.

Sound

Noisy. Call a loud nasal "whouk." Calls at any hour, in any season, from any location.

Conservation Status

Populations have been growing exponentially in most parts of thier ranges. some colonies are becoming so large that the geese are destroying nesting habitat, and hunting is proposed to decrease the populations.

Other Names

Oie blanche, Oie bleue, Oie des neiges (French)
Ganso blanco (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Snow Goose hunting in the eastern United States was stopped in 1916 because of low population levels. Hunting was allowed again in 1975 after populations had increased. Populations have been growing so large that the geese are destroying nesting habitat. Hunting has not slowed the dramatic increases in population size.

• One nest was found to be attended by two female Snow Geese, but no male. Each female had been inseminated by a different male and both incubated the eggs.

• The dark color of the blue morph Snow Goose is controlled by a single gene, with dark being partially dominant over white. If a pure dark goose mates with a white goose, the offspring will all be dark (possibly with white bellies). If two white geese mate, they have only white offspring. If two dark geese mate, they will have mostly dark offspring, but might have a few white ones too.

• Parents stay with their young through the first winter. Families travel together on both the southbound and northbound migrations, separating only after they return to the arctic breeding grounds. Family groups can easily be seen in migrating and wintering flocks.

Sources used to construct this page:

Mowbray, T. B., F. Cooke, and B. Ganter. 2000. Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens). In The Birds of North America, No. 514 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.