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Snow Goose Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Calls
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New York, March 29, 2017Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library
Calls
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California, January 18, 2018Recorded by Paul Marvin / Macaulay Library
Calls
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California, March 12, 2012Recorded by Paul Marvin / Macaulay Library
Calls
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California, January 19, 2018Recorded by Paul Marvin / Macaulay Library
Flock calls
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Louisiana, January 12, 2020Recorded by Robert Dobbs / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Snow Geese are possibly the noisiest of all waterfowl. Their main call, made by both males and females, is a nasal, one-syllable honk given at any hour of the day or night, at any time of year, in the air or on the ground. Distant calling flocks are reminiscent of a pack of baying hounds. Birds less than a year old have a clearer and higher-pitched whistle. Family groups use a series of guttural notes to communicate with each other while feeding. Parents make a fast, quiet series of notes as a brood call to round up goslings. During nesting, they use a penetrating alarm call that varies in intensity. The flight call is a continuous chorus of shrill cries, hoarse honks, and high-pitched quacks, audible both day and night.

Compare with Similar Species

Click on an image to compare

Compare the Ross's Goose Adult white morph to the Snow Goose

Compare the Ross's Goose Adult blue morph to the Snow Goose

Compare the Tundra Swan Adult (Whistling) to the Snow Goose

Compare the Trumpeter Swan Adult to the Snow Goose

Compare the Mute Swan Adult to the Snow Goose

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Species in This Family

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Greater White-fronted Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Eurasian Wigeon

American Wigeon

American Black Duck

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Steller's Eider

Spectacled Eider

White-winged Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Common Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Browse Species in This Family

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