Subject: [Tweeters] mystery goose
Date: Dec 7 08:13:34 2009
From: Steven Mlodinow - sgmlod at aol.com



Greetings All

The amound of white on head and belly of this bird would actually suggest Snow x Canada Goose rather than Greater WF Goose x Canada. Assuming it is flying with one of our moffitti Canada (not a Cackling of some flavor or a Lesser Canada), then its size is a concern. It is about the same size, or perhaps larger than, the Canada it is flying with. Or so it appears, anyway. Large races of Canada Geese do not overlap in breeding range with Snow or White-fronts, or at least not out west. So, a Snow x Canada or white-front x Canada should appear distinctly smaller than our resident Canadas.

If this bird is the same size as one of our typical Canada Geese, then I'd suspect some sort of aberrant coloration (clearly involving foot color) or hybridization with some domestic variety of goose.

Best Wishes
Steven Mlodinow