Snow Goose

Two color morphs: the white morph (white body with black wingtips) and the blue morph (dark grey-blue body with a white head and upper neck). Juveniles are grayish-brown with duller bills and legs.

White body (in white morph), black primary wingtips contrasting sharply with white underparts, pinkish-red bill with a dark black 'grin patch' along the cutting edge, and pinkish legs.

Length: 60-79 cm (24-31 in), Wingspan: 132-165 cm (52-65 in), Weight: 2.0-3.2 kg (4.4-7.1 lbs)

A high-pitched, nasal, barking yelp or honk, often given in a chaotic chorus by large flocks.

Herbivorous, feeding primarily on grasses, sedges, roots, shoots, and agricultural grains like corn and rice, using their strong bills to dig up underground roots and tubers.

Tundra and coastal marshes in the summer; agricultural fields, freshwater marshes, estuaries, and mudflats in the winter.

Highly migratory, traveling long distances between Arctic breeding grounds and southern wintering areas.

Nests on the ground in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down feathers, usually in colonies; clutch size is 2-6 creamy-white eggs incubated solely by the female.

Ross's Goose is smaller with a shorter neck, a stubbier bill lacking a prominent grinning patch, and lacks the dark wingtips in some contexts, but can look very similar.

Through their intensive grubbing and grazing behaviors, Snow Geese significantly impact Arctic tundra vegetation, influencing plant communities and providing nutrients to soil, while also serving as prey for Arctic predators.

Least Concern, with populations currently expanding significantly due to abundant agricultural food sources on wintering grounds.

Look for massive V-shaped migratory formations or large flocks feeding in agricultural fields; use binoculars or spotting scopes as they can be wary and keep a distance from observers.

Snow Geese form long-term monogamous pair bonds, often mating for life, and their population growth has become so high that special conservation hunts have been established to protect fragile Arctic habitats from overgrazing.