Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
Snow Goose, 11/6/07, Merced NWR, Merced Co

 The Snow Goose is similar to the smaller and less
common Ross's Goose , from which it is distinguished
also by its conspicuous dark "grinning patch" on the
side of the bill, and by a more sloping forehead. Snow
Geese gather in flocks of thousands on their wintering
grounds in flooded fields in the California central valley
and at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico, and their
mass takeoffs are a great spectacle.


Snow Geese, 11/6/07, Merced NWR, Merced Co
Snow Goose, blue morph, 11/16/09, Bosque del Apache, Socorro, NM
Snow Goose comes in light and and dark color morphs, the latter the much less common form among western birds. The bird above shows the full dark morph plumage, but gradations between the forms are also found. There are two subspecies, Greater and Lesser;
all the birds on this page are Lesser Snow Geese.
Snow Goose, first year, 11/13/09, Crespi Pond, Pacific Grove, Monterey Co
Snow Goose, 12/8/07, Merced NWR, Merced Co
Snow Goose, 11/16/09, Bosque del Apache, Socorro, NM
Snow Geese, 2/3/07, Merced NWR, Merced Co
Snow Geese, 11/15/09, Bosque del Apache, Socorro, NM