A very compact, round-bodied and short-necked goose with a small, stubby bill.
Relative Size
Larger than a Brant, smaller than a Greater White-fronted Goose.
goose-sized or largerSmall and stocky goose with a short pink bill, clean white head, and orange legs. Body is dark silver-gray except for white tail feathers.
Small stocky goose with a small pink bill and orange legs. Some adults have their white heads stained orange from feeding in iron-rich substrates. Note white tail feathers.
Small stocky goose with a short bill. Juveniles have a dark bill, gray neck, dull yellow-orange legs, and show gray mottling on the head.
Small goose with a small pink bill, white head, and blackish neck.
In flight, the upperwing is mostly silver and contrasts with the blackish trailing edge. Note white tail feathers bracketed by dark feathers above and below.
Stocky goose that is similar in size to Greater White-fronted Goose (left). Body is scalloped silver and dark except for white tail feathers. Head and back of the neck are white mottled with gray—this pattern is less crisp than on an adult.
Immatures in their first winter look like adults but have variable dark speckling on the face and head.
These geese don't migrate very far away from their breeding grounds. In winter, they gather in flocks to feed in the rocky intertidal zones along Alaska's coastline in places like Kodiak Island, the Aleutian Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula.
A very compact, round-bodied and short-necked goose with a small, stubby bill.
Larger than a Brant, smaller than a Greater White-fronted Goose.
goose-sized or largerAdults are blue-gray overall, with stark black-and-white edging to the feathers that creates a scaly appearance. They have a distinctive black throat and white head and back of neck; a pink-and-lavender bill; and bright orange legs and feet. Juveniles are similar but with a dark bill and with sooty patches on the white head and neck.
Grazes on marine algae below the high-tide line, or eats shoots and digs up root bulbs with the bill. Also digs up or pries off mussels and barnacles from rocks or the sea floor.
Nests in low tundra grasslands near edges of rivers and sloughs. Forages in tidal habitats such as mudflats, lagoons, rocky shorelines, and marshes.
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)
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