Ross’s Goose

A small goose that looks like a miniature version of the Snow Goose. They have a rounded head with their eye centered on their face, they are white with black wingtips.

Found by explorers in 1770, but for some reason they were not described to science until 1861. In 1938 their Arctic nesting grounds were finally discovered.

The main population will migrate from the Northwest Territories to central California.  A few have begun over the recent years to migrate down to New Mexico and east of the Rockies. They will migrate in flocks, often with other geese especially Snow Geese.

Their diet consists entirely on plant material. Mostly green grasses and sedges, but during the fall migration they will feed more on grains of wild grasses and seeds. 

Originally they were thought to be very rare and possibly on the brink of extinction, but their population has increased substantially in recent decades.