Ross's goose

Ross's goose
Adult Ross's goose in Ohio, USA
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anser
Species:
A. rossii
Binomial name
Anser rossii
Cassin, 1861
Ross's goose range:
  Breeding
  Wintering
  Migration
Synonyms
  • Chen rossii

Ross's goose (Anser rossii), formerly Chen rossii, is a white goose with black wingtips and a relatively short neck. It is the smallest of the three white geese that breed in North America. It is similar in appearance to a white-phase snow goose, but about 40% smaller. Other differences from the snow goose are that the bill is smaller in proportion to its body and lacks "black lips". Like snow geese, Ross's geese may exhibit a darker "blue" phase or morph, though this is extremely rare (<0.01% of adult birds).[2]

Before the early 1900s, this goose was considered a rare species, possibly as a consequence of open hunting, but numbers have increased dramatically as a result of conservation measures.[3] It is now listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN,[4] and is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Ross's goose is named in honor of Bernard R. Ross (1827–1874), who was associated with the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada's Northwest Territories. Members of the Hudson's Bay Company were the first Europeans to discover the arctic nesting grounds of Ross's geese in 1940.[3] The first recognizable description of Ross's geese, under the name "horned wavey", was given by explorer Samuel Hearne eighty years before John Cassin named it after Ross.[5]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Anser rossii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679909A92834499. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679909A92834499.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Johnsgard, Paul A. (2014). "What are Blue Ross's Geese?". Nebraska Bird Review. 82 (2): 81–85.
  3. ^ a b Jónsson, J.E.; Ryder, J.P.; Alisauskas, R.T. (2013). Ross's Goose (Anser rossii). Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  4. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Anser rossii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016.
  5. ^ "Once Upon a Time in American Ornithology". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 118 (4): 577–579. 2006. doi:10.1676/1559-4491(2006)118[577:OUATIA]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 20455932.