Skip to Content

All About Birds

All About Birds

Snow Goose

Overview
ID Info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Snow Goose Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Flock calls
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
California, January 14, 1989Recorded by Thomas G. Sander | Macaulay Library
Individual calls
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
New York, March 29, 2017Recorded by Jay McGowan | Macaulay Library
Individual calls
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Connecticut, May 01, 1964Recorded by Marian P. McChesney | Macaulay Library
Calls
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Nunavut, June 20, 2008Recorded by Gerrit Vyn | Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Snow Geese are possibly the noisiest of all waterfowl. Their main call, made by both males and females, is a nasal, one-syllable honk given at any hour of the day or night, at any time of year, in the air or on the ground. Distant calling flocks are reminiscent of a pack of baying hounds. Birds less than a year old have a clearer and higher-pitched whistle. Family groups use a series of guttural notes to communicate with each other while feeding. Parents make a fast, quiet series of notes as a brood call to round up goslings. During nesting, they use a penetrating alarm call that varies in intensity. The flight call is a continuous chorus of shrill cries, hoarse honks, and high-pitched quacks, audible both day and night.

Compare with Similar Species

Click on an image to compare

Looking for ID Help?

Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds.

Try Merlin Bird ID

Species in This Family

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family:Anatidae)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Greater White-fronted Goose

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Eurasian Wigeon

American Wigeon

American Black Duck

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Steller's Eider

White-winged Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Common Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Browse Species in This Family

More to Read

Why Birds Hit Windows—and How You Can Help Prevent It
Bird Academy
Bird Song Hero
Habitat Network
Which Backyard Birds Eat Which Plants? A Quick Guide to Native Foods

eBird
Mesmerizing Migration: Watch 118 Bird Species Migrate Across a Map of the Western Hemisphere
Bird ID Skills: How to Learn Bird Songs and Calls
Living Bird Magazine
They Had Feathers: Is the World Ready to See Dinosaurs as They Really Were?

Copyright © 2019 Cornell University

Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin

New call-to-action

Do not show this again

Search

Or Browse Bird Guide by Family or Shape

Get Instant ID Help

Don't miss a thing! Join our email list

The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.