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A snow goose in flight

Snow goose

Snow geese are migrant birds, flying as far south as Texas and Mexico during winter, and returning to nest on the Arctic tundra each spring. During the breeding season these geese break up into monogamous pairs, with both parents taking responsibility for rearing the young. Snow geese have a number of predators, and young chicks are particularly vulnerable, but research has shown that geese who choose to nest alongside snowy owls, gain a level of protection from their powerful neighbours.

Scientific name: Chen caerulescens

Rank: Species

Common names:

Blue Goose

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Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Snow goose taxa

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

The Snow goose can be found in a number of locations including: Arctic, Himalayas, North America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Snow goose distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

Conservation Status

Least Concern

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Year assessed: 2009

Classified by: IUCN 3.1

About

The Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed. The American Ornithologists' Union and BirdLife International place this species and the other "white geese" in the Chen genus, while other authorities follow the traditional treatment of placing these species in the "gray goose" genus Anser.[unreliable source?]

This goose breeds north of the timberline in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern tip of Siberia, and winters in warm parts of North America from southwestern British Columbia through parts of the United States to Mexico. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, but a frequent escape from collections and an occasional feral breeder. Snow Geese are visitors to the British Isles where they are seen regularly among flocks of Barnacle, Brent and Greenland White-fronted geese. There is also a feral population in Scotland from which many vagrant birds in Britain seem to derive.

In Central America, vagrants are frequently encountered during winter.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Classification

  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Birds
  5. Anseriformes
  6. Ducks, geese and swans
  7. Chen
  8. Snow goose

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