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Snow Goose
 
   
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
FAST FACTS
FUN FACTS
ECOLOGY & CONSERVATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
COMMON NAME: snow goose, greater snow goose, lesser snow goose, blue goose
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anatidae
GENUS SPECIES:

Anser caerulescens

There are 2 recognized subspecies of snow goose:

• A. c. caerulescens
• A. c. atlanticus
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FAST FACTS
DESCRIPTION:

There are two color forms of snow geese:
• white = white all over; may have rust-orange stains on the head and neck
• blue = white head and front of neck with a dark gray to brown body
They have dark eyes and a pink bill. The legs are darker pink.
SIZE:

length = 66-84 cm (2.16-2.75 ft.)
wingspan = 132-165 cm (4.3-5.51 ft.)
WEIGHT: 2.5-3.5 kg (5.5-7.7 lb.)
DIET: A variety of plants from aquatic plants to grasses; also grain
INCUBATION: 23-26 days
CLUTCH SIZE 4-5 eggs
SEXUAL MATURITY: 2 years; most do not nest until 3-4 years of age
LIFE SPAN: no data
RANGE:

Summer = northern Alaska across arctic Canada to Greenland; northeastern Siberia
Winter = central Califronia, western Gulf Coast, middle Atlantic coast; small numbers in Pacific northwest, central states and central Mexico
HABITAT:

Summer = low grassy tundra near water or stony ground
Winter = coastal agricultural land
POPULATION: GLOBAL 7,600,000 individuals
STATUS: IUCN Least concern
CITES Appendix II
USFWS Not listed
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FUN FACTS
1. To build a nest, snow geese scrape into the ground and line it with plant material and down feathers.
   
2. Snow geese travel in large, noisy flocks.
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ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
In 1916, snow goose hunting was stopped in the eastern United States because of population declines. The ban was lifted in 1975 when the population reached safe numbers. Today, populations are so large that they are destroying their nesting habitats, and hunting of snow geese is encouraged to control and hopefully decrease populations.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Chen caerulescens. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2/1/2008
 
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2003. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Snow_Goose_dtl.html.
 

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliot, et al. Handbook of the Birds of the World: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona, Lynx Edicions. 1992.

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