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Snow Goose

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anser
Species:caerulescens
Binomial name
Anser caerulescens
( Linnaeus, 1758)

The Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens) is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage.

The American ornithologist, David Sibley , places this species and the other North American "white" geese in the genus Chen, rather than the more traditional "grey" goose genus Anser. The Snow Goose is then classed as Chen caerulescens.

This goose breeds in northern CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe and the northeastern tip of SiberiaSiberia ( Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir Sibir' is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan, constituting all of northern Asia, and extending eastward from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and southward from the Arctic Oc, and winters much further south in the continent in the southern USAThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in and beyond. These birds migrate in large flocks, often visiting traditional stopover habitats in spectacular numbers.

A larger race of this bird, the Greater Snow Geese (A. c. atlanticus), nests to the north of eastern Canada. The smaller race, the Lesser Snow Goose (A. c. caerulescens), occurs in two plumage variants. White phase birds are white except for black wing tips, but blue phase geese have bluish plumage replacing most of the white except on the head, neck and tail tip. White and blue phase birds do interbreed and the young may be of either type. Blue phase birds are rare among the Greater Snow Geese.

This species is a rare vagrant to Europe, but a frequent escape from collections and an occasional feral breeder.

The nest is usually located in a slightly-elevated location on the ground, built with plant material and lined with down.

These birds mainly eat plant material, found in shallow water or on land. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. In winter, these birds feed on left-over grain in fields.

The population of Greater Snow Geese was in decline at the beginning of the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre, but has now recovered to sustainable levels.

The number of Snow Geese has increased to the point where the tundraIn physical geography, tundra is an area where tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia which means treeless plain. There are three types of tundra: arctic tundra antarctic breeding areas in the Arctic and the saltmarsh wintering grounds are both becoming severely degraded, and this affects other species using the same habitat. Extending hunting of this wary species has made no significant impact on numbers.


Lesser Snow Goose (white phase)



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