What is a blue phase Snow Goose?
The snow goose has two color plumage morphs, white (snow) or gray/blue (blue), thus the common description as “snows” and “blues”. The immature blue phase is drab or slate-gray with little to no white on the head, neck, or belly.
Why are some snow geese blue?
The “Blue Goose” is the dark morph of the Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens). Click on photos for full sized images. Color morphs are controlled by a single gene locus where the dark allele is incompletely dominant to the light. These are some of the images I took as the geese were bathing and preening.
Are blue morph snow geese rare?
Blue-morph birds are rare among the Greater Snow Geese and among eastern populations of the Lesser. Breeding: Long-term pair bonds (they mate for life) are usually formed in the second year, although breeding does not usually start until the third year.
What percentage of snow geese are blue?
Some are called dark morphs, or blue, geese: most of their feathers are blue-grey. The blue morph, which is quite common in Lesser Snow Geese, is rare in Greater Snow Geese: fewer than 4 percent of Greater Snow Geese are of this blue phase.
How rare is a blue goose?
The percentage of Blue Geese in that specific flyway may be as high as 50%. In other regional flyways further west, the percentage of the Blue Goose mixed in with the Snow Goose flocks may drop as low as 10-15% or less.
Are snow geese bigger than Canada goose?
Snow geese are smaller than Canada geese, weighing in at about 8 pounds, with a wingspan of 1.5 feet. Snow geese have two phases–snow and blue.
How do you tell male from female snow geese?
Adults also have dark pink feet and legs. Immature birds of both morphs are grayer overall. The legs, feet, and bill of young birds start out gray, then turn pink. The sexes look alike, with males slightly larger than females.
Are snow geese and blue geese the same?
Snow geese are known for their white plumage, but many of them are actually darker, gray-brown birds known as blue geese. These birds were once though to be two separate species, but they have recently been found to be merely two different color morphs of the same bird. A single gene controls the color difference.
Are snow geese aggressive?
Also, snow geese are aggressive feeders. Watch a flock in a field, and you might notice the birds moving in a general direction.
Why are snow geese a problem?
The snow goose population is out of control because of changes in agricultural practices on their wintering grounds and other human activities that require a man-made solution, like increased hunting. Without it, we could be witness to a catastrophic loss of habitat in the Arctic.
Where can I find white and blue snow geese?
Blue morphs tend to be more common in the Midwest and along the Gulf Coast. Often forages in large flocks during migration and winter. White and blue morphs flock together and interbreed freely, though white morphs are more common. Frequently occurs in shimmering flocks of hundreds of thousands during migration and winter. Looking for ID Help?
What makes a blue morph snow goose dark?
The dark color of the blue morph Snow Goose is controlled by a single gene, with dark being partially dominant over white. If a pure dark goose mates with a white goose, the offspring will all be dark (possibly with white bellies). If two white geese mate, they have only white offspring.
What kind of plumage does a snow goose have?
The Snow Goose has two color plumage morphs, white (snow) or gray/blue (blue), thus the common description as “snows” and “blues.”.
When do snow geese form a mass exodus?
Snow Geese often form massive flocks during the nonbreeding season, and often make mass exoduses. White and blue morphs will flock together, but white almost always outnumber blue. Will flock with other goose species.