[bcbirdclub] Re: Ross's Goose or Snow Goose?
- From: Michelle Talbott <mjtalbott625@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Roger Mayhorn <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 14:46:46 -0500
I find that grin patch very disturbing, but going by the rounded head and
the size of the bird, relative to the tiny Buffs, I'm guessing a Ross's
Goose. Even a Lesser Snow Goose weighs around five pounds, and though the
bird in the picture is bigger than the Buffleheads, it doesn't look four
pounds bigger, at least not to me.
Could be a smallish hybrid, though, right? Sibley says the hybrid is "rare
but regular," whatever the heck that means, exactly. Maybe they're like
ghosts, often seen but seldom proved?
Michelle
On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 1:49 PM, roger mayhorn <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Emerson Kirby took these photos on Saturday of a goose at Raven VA on his
> family's farm pond. David Raines and I are trying to decide from these
> photos if the goose is a Ross's or a Snow Goose.
> In the first photo I can see what looks like the "grin patch" (the darker
> area on the side of the bill) of a Snow Goose, but in the second photo,
> which shows the bird at at some distance, the bill looks short like that of
> a Ross's Goose, and the goose looks more the size of the smaller Ross's
> Goose.
> In the third photo the grin patch is again visible.
> It's possible that this bird is a Ross's x Snow Goose hybrid, though that
> is less likely. What does anyone else think? We welcome your input.
>
> Roger Mayhorn
> Compton Mt
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