Ross's Goose

Appearance

The plumage of this species is white except for black wing tips. It is similar in appearance to a white-phase Snow Goose but approximately 40% smaller. Other differences from the Snow Goose are that the bill is smaller in proportion to its body and lacks "black lips". The dark phase is extremely rare.

Distribution

This goose breeds in northern Canada, mainly in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and winters much further south in the continent in the southern United States and occasionally northern Mexico.

The Ross's Goose is a rare vagrant to Western Europe, but it is commonly kept in wildfowl collections and so the true frequency of wild birds is hard to ascertain. Escaped or feral specimens are encountered frequently, usually in the company of other feral geese such as Canada Goose, Greylag Goose and Barnacle Goose. However, individuals or small groups that seemed to be of natural origin have turned up in Holland and Britain.