Snow Goose Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A medium-sized goose with a hefty bill and long, thick neck. Juveniles are slightly smaller than adults in the fall, and this can be noticeable in flocks during fall and early winter.

  Relative Size

  goose-sized or larger

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 27.2-32.7 in (69-83 cm)
    • Weight: 56.4-116.4 oz (1600-3300 g)
    • Wingspan: 54.3 in (138 cm)

  © Nell Moore / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  The Snow Goose is a white-bodied goose with black wingtips that are barely visible on the ground but noticeable in flight. The pink bill has a dark line along it, often called a "grinning patch" or "black lips." You may also see dark morph Snow Geese, or "Blue Geese," with a white face, dark brown body, and white under the tail.

• Behavior

  Snow Geese don’t like to travel without the company of another couple dozen geese and can form flocks of several hundred thousand. Family groups forage together on wintering grounds, digging up roots and tubers from muddy fields and marshes. In flight, they are steady on the wing with even wingbeats.
• Habitat

  Snow Geese adapted quickly to use agricultural fields, which is one reason their populations are doing so well. During winter and migration, look for them in plowed cornfields or wetlands. Also check lakes, ponds, and marshes where they roost and bathe along shorelines and in open water. Snow Geese breed on Arctic tundra.