Snow Goose

Overview

Snow Goose: Large goose with two color phases. White phase is all white with black wing tips. Blue phase has white head and neck, blue-gray upperparts, gray-brown breast and sides, white belly. Pink bill, black lower mandible. Pink legs, feet. Strong direct flight in bunched flocks or U formations.

Range and Habitat

Snow Goose: Breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and eastern Siberia. In the west, winters on the Pacific coast from southern British Columbia to Baja California; also mid-Atlantic coast and the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Texas. Breeds on tundra; wintering habitats include salt marshes and marshy coastal bays and also freshwater marshes and grain fields.

INTERESTING FACTS

During migration the Snow Goose flies so high it can barely be seen. They form shifting curved lines and arcs as they fly. During the summer their heads’ are often stained red as a result of gathering food in mud containing iron oxides. Hunters call these birds “Wavies.” The name in derived from the Chippewa name for this bird, wewe. A group of geese has many collective nouns, including a "blizzard", "chevron", "knot", "plump", and "string" of geese.