Description

Snow geese have an average weight of 1-2 pounds, an overall body length of about 27 inches, and a wingspan of about 17 inches. Males and females are similar in appearance, but males are usually larger.

Snow geese come in two basic "color schemes" -- snow and blue. Both "kinds" of snow geese have black wing tips, red feet and legs, a pink bill, and a black "grin patch" (a patch of skin surrounding the base of the bill), but basic colorations of the two are different -- an adult "snow snow goose" is snowy white, while an adult "blue snow goose" is blue/gray. Immature "snows" are dirty white in color with black wing tips, while immature "blues" are slate gray with little or no white. It was once thought that the two color variations were different species of geese, but they are not. They interbreed with one another, and are found together throughout their range. The colors appear to be genetically determined. Individual snow geese tend to choose mates that resemble their parents, but "mixed" breeding is not uncommon.

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