Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Ross's and a Snow

Most people are familiar with the Snow Goose  (Chen caerulescens).  Non-birders, though, are probably unaware there is another arctic-breeding, white migratory goose - the Ross's Goose  (Chen rossii)

The Ross's is smaller, has a smaller head and much smaller bill that lacks the "grin patch" of the Snows.

Here's a photo of a Ross's and a Snow that I took a couple days ago just south of Crosby, North Dakota.


Also like the Snows, there is a dark-morph of the Ross's (I don't have a photo).  

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