California
Chen caerulescens   left-U.S. Forest Service; right-BLM Oregon | |
| Type of Animal: | Birds |
|---|---|
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Federal Status: | |
| State Status: | |
| Occurrence: | |
| Habitat: | Marshes,Grassland,Ponds,Coasts |
| Description: | The snow goose is one of the most abundant species of waterfowl in the world. It is a medium-sized goose, with a distinctive blackish "grinning patch" or "smile." Snow geese prefer coastal lagoons and marshes, agricultural land and adjacent prairies, tidal flats, estuaries, and tundra areas. They roost in large flocks on dry, flat land on wintering grounds and feed on inland lakes and marshes or large estuaries. Snow geese feed on seeds, stems, leaves, rhizomes, stolons, tubers and roots of grasses, sedges, rushes, and other aquatic plants; grains and young leafy stems of various agricultural crops; stems of horsetails; and a variety of berries during winter and migration. During breeding season, they may feed on leafy parts of grasses, sedges, rushes, willows, and other aquatic plants; rhizomes, tubers, and roots of grasses, rushes, sedges, forbs, and tundra shrubs. Brooding goslings may also feed on fruits and flowers, shoots of horsetails, and Chironomid larvae. Snow gees breed in large, often dense, colonies north of the tree line from extreme northeastern Russia along the coast and islands of arctic and subarctic North America to Northwestern Greenland. They form lifelong socially monogamous pair bonds, and nest on dry ground, often close to rocks or small shrubs that provide some shelter. Snow geese winter in the southern United States (primarily Texas and Louisiana) and Mexico. They also winter along the Atlantic seaboard from Virginia south to North Carolina, and in California, New Mexico, and Arizona. In recent years snow geese have expanded their wintering range into Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, presumably due to the amount of agricultural land. Occasionally snow geese are found in Hawaii. They are temporarily found in all states along the Atlantic, Central, and Pacific Flyways during migration from August through November and February through March. |
| Effort: | |
| References: | U.S. Forest Service Index of Species Information Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Cornell Lab or Ornithology |
| Other Sites: | |
| Field Office(s): | Arcata; Bakersfield; Barstow; Eagle Lake; Mother Lode; Palm Springs; Redding; Ridgecrest; Surprise |