Where’s Wildlife · Bird Field Guide
Snow Goose
Anser caerulescens
Pronounced (approx.): AN-ser seh-roo-LES-enz
A social goose with both white and dark color forms, often gathering in large flocks.
Three Identification Clues
White-morph adults have a white body and black wingtips.
The pink bill has a conspicuous dark grin patch along its sides.
Dark-morph adults have a mostly dark body and a white head; young birds can be grayish.
Field Photographs
Showing 8 of 14 photographs.
Beyond the first impression
Plumage & Identification
Two colors, one species
White-form adults have black wingtips; blue-form adults have darker bodies and white heads. Both share the same sturdy proportions and distinctive bill. A dark bird among white companions need not be a different goose species. [1]
Check structure, not just whiteness
Ross's Goose can look similar, especially in flight. Snow Goose has a longer head-and-bill profile and a conspicuous curved dark patch along the bill. Juveniles complicate color comparisons, so use a clear side view and compare several birds rather than relying on distance alone. [1]
Life history
How This Bird Lives
Where to look
During migration and winter, scan open fields and nearby water where flocks rest. Breeding colonies occupy northern tundra near wetlands. A busy agricultural stopover provides food and rest, not evidence that the birds nest locally. [2]
Food & foraging
These geese crop grasses, pull up roots, and eat grain. Their bill can work below the surface as well as clip shoots above it. Watch head movements to distinguish grazing from the more forceful pulling involved in digging out underground plant parts. [2]
A family on the tundra
The female chooses a ground site and adds down and nearby vegetation to the scrape. She incubates while the male guards. A clutch contains 2–6 eggs, with incubation lasting about 24 days. [2]
Down-covered, open-eyed goslings leave the nest soon after hatching. Their early mobility does not mean they can fly. Observe family groups without blocking their route to feeding ground or water. [2]
Did you know?
A Closer Look at Snow Geese
Color runs in families
The blue form is an inherited color variation, not a seasonal costume. White and dark parents can produce different combinations of young depending on their genetic makeup. [3]
Long journeys on small feet
Within their first three weeks, goslings may walk up to 50 miles with their parents to better feeding habitat. Migration is not the only demanding journey in a goose's life. [3]
Eggshells record time
The pale shells stain readily. Earlier-laid eggs can become dirtier than later ones, sometimes giving researchers a clue to laying order without relying on shell markings alone. [3]
Sources: [1] Cornell · Identification [2] Cornell · Life history [3] Cornell · Species overview
Range & Sightings
Seasonal Range
View Range Map ↗Recorded Observations
Observation records are not a complete seasonal range map.
iNaturalist observation map ↗