Snow goose

Anser caerulescens

A white Arctic-breeding goose that migrates in huge flocks to North American wetlands and fields, with a darker blue morph.

Key facts

Snow goose (Anser caerulescens) is a herbivore animal classified as Bird · Anseriformes · Anatidae.
Primary habitats are polar · freshwater · grassland · coast, with a range across Nearctic · Arctic Ocean.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is herd, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A white Arctic-breeding goose that migrates in huge flocks to North American wetlands and fields, with a darker blue morph.
Breeds on tundra and uses lakes, estuaries, tidal flats, farmland, and grassland during migration and winter.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Breeds on tundra and uses lakes, estuaries, tidal flats, farmland, and grassland during migration and winter.

White morphs have white bodies and black wingtips. Blue morphs have gray-blue bodies with white heads.

It migrates in very large flocks, often in V formations, and feeds noisily in open fields and marshes.

Grasses, roots, rhizomes, grain, and young plants are eaten, sometimes dug from mud with the bill.

Ground nests are built on tundra. Females incubate, and goslings walk and graze soon after hatching.

In some regions, growing populations can put heavy pressure on vegetation at breeding grounds.