Emperor Goose

Adults have a white head and hindneck, often stained yellowish by iron in the water, and a black chin and throat. The body is bluish-gray with prominent black-and-white barring. The tail is white, and the legs are bright orange. Juveniles have darker heads with grayish-brown mottling and less distinct barring.

White head and hindneck, black chin/throat, dark bluish-gray barred body, and bright orange legs.

Length: 60-70 cm (24-28 in); Wingspan: 110-120 cm (43-47 in); Weight: 2.2-3.4 kg (4.8-7.5 lbs)

A high-pitched, musical, two-syllable honk or cackle, often described as a clearer and higher version of the Greater White-fronted Goose call.

Primarily vegetarian, feeding on coastal grasses, sedges, eelgrass, algae, and occasionally marine invertebrates such as mollusks and crustaceans during winter.

Maritime tundra, tidal flats, estuaries, and rocky marine coastlines. They rarely venture far inland or into freshwater habitats compared to other geese.

Short-distance migrant; moves from tundra breeding grounds to ice-free marine waters in the Aleutian Islands and south-central Alaska for the winter.

Nests on the ground near water in coastal tundra, using a shallow depression lined with plant material and down. Clutch size typically ranges from 3 to 7 eggs. Females incubate while males stand guard.

Snow Goose, which is entirely white (except for black wingtips) and lacks the bluish-gray barred body of the Emperor Goose.

Acts as a seed disperser and plays a role in coastal nutrient cycling. Overgrazing can impact local tundra vegetation, though they generally maintain a balanced relationship with their habitat.

Near Threatened. Populations have faced historical declines due to hunting, lead poisoning, and mammalian predation, though some recovery has been observed.

Best observed along remote Alaskan coastal mudflats, estuaries, and rocky shores during the summer breeding season or wintering grounds in the Aleutians.

The Emperor Goose has one of the most restricted geographic ranges of any goose species, being almost entirely confined to the Bering Sea region.