[rba] [mou] Possible Snow x Ross's Goose

[alyssa]

Just to add on to all of the "possible" bird identifications...

Last Sunday (10/19) I reported a Ross's Goose up in Duluth. When I saw the bird, I automatically assumed it was a Ross's due to it's small size, which seemed smaller than a Mallard. (It was hanging out with a flock of Ring-billed Gulls, and it was only ~5 inches larger than them.) 

After Peder Svingen mentioned he saw a juvenile Snow Goose on the same day, same place, I looked a bit closer at the photos. Indeed, I noticed the characteristic lanky, rectangular head and the large long bill of a Snow Goose. 

However, the size simply does not match up, and the individual had a fairly bright white color (not nearly as bright as Sibley's Ross's, though.) 

Chad Gustafson, who also present while viewing the goose, took this picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chadgustafson/2957171146/sizes/l/

We both agree that it most fits with a Snow x Ross's hybrid. Snow because of the bill/head shape, Ross's because of the size.

Any feedback is much appreciated from others who have experience with these geese species.

Alyssa DeRubeis
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-rba_moumn.org/attachments/20081023/1bd0764b/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------

---
This mailing list is sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.  Mailing list membership available on-line at http://moumn.org/subscribe.html.
-----
To unsubscribe send a blank email to mou-net-request at moumn.org with a subject of unsubscribe.