Ross's Goose

Ross's goose has a rounded head above a short neck. The bill is short and triangular and has a bluish base with warty structures that increase in prominence with age. Adults are identified by all-white secondary feathers, while juveniles' are dark centered. Females average 6% smaller than males. Legs begin as olive gray on goslings and turn deep red as they mature.No geographic variation or identified subspecies is known. Related species include other Anser geese, particularly the lesser snow goose, where the two mtDNA lineages imply frequent hybridization. Two hypotheses about the evolution of Ross's goose are that they arose from a population of snow geese that were isolated by glacial advance or in a refugium that remained ice free. Measurements:

Male Length: 23.2–25.2 in (59–64 cm) Weight: 42.3–55.3 oz (1198–1567 g) Wingspan: 44.5-45.7 in (113–116 cm) Female Length: 22.6–24.4 in (57.3–62 cm) Weight: 37.6–51.3 oz (1066–1454 g)

Landscape in the central Arctic is dominated by flat plains with some rock outcrops and drumlins, wet meadows, and marshy tundra. Vegetation includes patches of dwarf birch, willow, grasses, sedges, and low-growing vascular plants including crowberry, lapland rosebay, and lousewort.

These birds migrate from their Canadian nesting grounds by mid-October, probably in response to limited food before freezing temperatures set in, and begin their return in mid-April to May. Like most geese, they are grazers that feed on grasses, sedges, and small grains. They often forage in large, mixed flocks with snow geese. Large colonies of nesting birds can cause extensive damage to plants by overgrazing.

Reproduction. Ross's geese form large nesting colonies on islands in shallow lakes and adjacent mainland, building nests on the ground made of twigs, leaves, grass, moss, and down. Females lay an average of four eggs per clutch and incubate the nest for 21–23 days. The eggs measure 6.54–8.02 cm (2.6–3.2 in) in length and 4.43–5.14 cm (1.7–2 in) in length. A study of ground-based sampling along the McConnell River on the west coast of Hudson Bay reported a population of about 81,000 nesting Ross's geese.