Hear a story about the snow goose.
Hear a flock of snow geese.

adapted from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

"Few wildlife spectacles equal the sight of thousands of snow geese spread out to feed across a Texas coastal prairie, resembling giant snowflakes drifted by the wind. Groups of the large white birds flutter up from the ground on black-tipped wings and settle back into the vanguard of the advancing front. Other flocks come streaming in, flying in ragged, interlacing lines and U-shaped formations rather than the precise Vs employed by the larger Canada geese. The calls of the newcomers overhead are strangely musical, a high-pitched whouk or kaahk, but the massed voices on the ground become a constant, ringing clamor." (J.T.)

The snow goose is a medium-sized waterfowl with two distinct color phases--white and blue. Most snow geese found in Texas are white with black-tipped wings. The blue goose is bluish gray with a white head, neck and belly, and is found primarily along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. Both phases have pink feet and a pink bill, marked with a black grinning patch.

Snow geese breed on the high Arctic tundra and migrate southward after the nesting season to spend the winter in scattered locations throughout the interior of the U.S. and Mexico. In Texas they inhabit the Panhandle and eastern half of the state during the winter months. Here they roost on marshes, playa lakes and coastal wetlands, foraging on plants, seeds and grains from nearby agricultural fields.

The white and blue snow geese are members of a subspecies sometimes called the "lesser snow goose." The larger "greater snow goose" breeds around Baffin Bay and winters only along the mid-Atlantic coast while the "lesser snow goose" typically nests on the western shore of Hudson Bay. Another white goose --the Ross' goose--can be found among flocks of snow geese in Texas, although it normally winters in central California. The Ross' goose resembles the white-phase of the snow goose but is smaller...about the size of a mallard. It also lacks the black "grinning patch" on its short, stubby bill. The snow goose and the Ross' goose are often referred to as "light geese" and are game birds.

Over the past three decades, populations of snow geese have increased dramatically. The mid-continent snow goose population, estimated at approximately 6 million birds, now threatens to destroy its Arctic nesting grounds. To learn more about this environmental CRISIS, refer to the audio interviews and resource websites listed below.

Excerpts from The Birds of Texas by John L. Tveten with permission from Shearer Publishing, Inc.

More Bird Facts The snow goose is a member of the Anatidae family, which includes ducks, swans and geese. Some 145 species of Anatidae occur around the world, nearly half of them in North America. Snow geese have two color phases...white and blue, sometimes called white-morph and blue morph. The blue phase was formerly considered a separate species, but today both phases are considered the same species. It's scientific name--Chen caerulescens--literally means "blue goose." The original name of the more abundant white goose--Chen hyperborea-- means "goose from beyond the north wind."

Hear Interviews with Experts Snow Goose Population on the Rise Snow Geese Impact on Arctic Habitat A Solution to Snow Geese Crisis Hunters Help Reduce Snow Goose Populations More on Rising Snow Goose Populations Website - Snow Geese Damage Arctic Habitat