From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Snow Goose
Blue morph Lesser Snow Goose
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Genus: Chen (disputed) Species: C. caerulescens
Binomial name
Chen caerulescens (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
C. c. caerulescens (Lesser Snow Goose) C. c. atlanticus (Greater Snow Goose)
Synonyms
Anser caerulescens (but see text)

The Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed. The American Ornithologists' Union and BirdLife International for example place this species and the other two "white" geese in Chen, while some other authorities place it in the more traditional "grey" goose genus Anser.

This goose breeds in northern Canada and the northeastern tip of Siberia, and winters much further south in the continent in the southern USA and beyond.

This species is a rare vagrant to Europe, but a frequent escape from collections and an occasional feral breeder. For example, Snow Geese are rare visitors to the British Isles where they are seen regularly among flocks of Barnacle, Brent and Greenland White-fronted geese. There is also a feral population in Scotland from which many vagrant birds in Britain seem to derive. In Central America, vagrants are not infrequently encountered during the winter months^[1].

Lesser Snow Goose in white phase

The smaller of the two subspecies, the Lesser Snow Goose (C. c. caerulescens), lives from central northern Canada to the Bering Straits area. It commonly occurs in two plumage morphs. White-morph birds are white except for black wing tips, but blue-morph geese have bluish-grey plumage replacing most of the white except on the head, neck and tail tip. White- and blue-morph birds do interbreed and the offspring may be of either morph. The larger subspecies, the Greater Snow Goose (C. c. atlanticus), nests to the north of eastern Canada. Blue-morph birds are rare among the Greater Snow Geese.

Snow Geese wintering at the Bosque del Apache, New Mexico; note blue-morph bird at far upper left

Snow geese mainly eat plant material found in shallow water or on land. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. In winter, snow geese feed on left-over grain in fields. They migrate in large flocks, often visiting traditional stopover habitats in spectacular numbers.

Their nests are usually located in a slightly elevated location on the ground, built with plant material and lined with down. They mate for life.

The population of Greater Snow Geese was in decline at the beginning of the 20th century, but has now recovered to sustainable levels. Snow Geese in North America have increased to the point where the tundra breeding areas in the Arctic and the saltmarsh wintering grounds are both becoming severely degraded, and this affects other species using the same habitat.

1. ^ Herrera et al. (2006)

• BirdLife International (2004). Chen caerulescens. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
• Herrera, Néstor; Rivera, Roberto; Ibarra Portillo, Ricardo & Rodríguez, Wilfredo (2006): Nuevos registros para la avifauna de El Salvador. ["New records for the avifauna of El Salvador"]. Boletín de la Sociedad Antioqueña de Ornitología 16(2): 1-19. [Spanish with English abstract] PDF fulltext

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Snow Goose

• US Fish & Wildlife Service
• Snow Goose Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• The Nature Conservancy's Species profile: Snow Goose Learn more about the conservation of these geese
• Picture Link: Snow Geese taking flight in Addison, VT
• Snow Goose Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
• Snow Goose Chen caerulescens - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter

v • d • e Game Animals and Shooting in North America
Game Birds:	Bobwhite Quail · Chukar · Common Snipe  · Hungarian Partridge · Prairie Chicken · Mourning Dove · Ring-necked pheasant · Ruffed Grouse · Sharp-tailed Grouse · Spruce Grouse · Turkey · Woodcock
Waterfowl	Black Duck · Canadian Goose · Canvasback · Gadwall · Greater Scaup · Lesser Scaup · Mallard · Northern Pintail · Redhead · Ross's Goose · Snow Goose · Wood Duck
Big Game:	Bighorn Sheep · Black Bear · Boar · Buffalo · Elk · Moose · White-tailed deer  · Mountain goat
Other Quarry:	Bobcat · Coyote · Fox Squirrel · Gray Fox · Rabbit · Raccoon · Red Fox · Snowshoe Hare · Gray Squirrel
See also:	Big game hunting  · Deer hunting · Waterfowl hunting · Upland hunting