The Snow Goose is aptly named because this goose is totally white except for its black wingtips, pink bill with a black grin patch, and pink legs and feet.
Interestingly, it has another variant, called the Blue Goose, which has a white head but a dark blue-gray body. Both variants of the Snow Geese may occasionally have a “stained” head due to their feeding.
The sexes of both variants are similar though they may vary in size. Males tend to be larger than females.
Juvenile white morphs have a dusky gray-brown coloring, and juvenile blue morphs are dark gray. However, they both still have the recognizable pink bill and black grin patch.
- Anser caerulescens
- Length: 25 – 31 in (64 – 79 cm)
- Weight: 81.13 oz (2299 g)
- Wingspan: 54.3 in (138 cm)
Range
Snow Geese breed mainly in Canada and spend winter in the United States.
Habitat And Diet
You can find Snow Geese and Blue Geese together in freshwater marshes and agricultural grain fields. In winter, they favor salt marshes and coastal bays, but they still visit plowed cornfields or wetlands.
Snow Geese are herbivores and voracious eaters. They regularly feed in water-logged soil or shallow water. Their favorite diet includes any type of plant vegetation, like grasses, sedges, willows, rushes, and horsetails. They will also feed on seeds, grains, and plants that they rip up by their roots.
Snow Goose Call:
Nests
Nests of Snow Geese are usually found in large colonies on the tundra. The female builds a nest, usually a shallow depression on the ground, which may be reused repeatedly because females return to the place where they hatched to breed.
After she lays the first three to five eggs, she lines the nest with grasses and down. Incubation takes around twenty-four days, and when they hatch, the goslings can fend for themselves.
Fun Fact:
Snow Geese choose the same color morph as themselves when breeding and will mate for life.
