Why do snowgeese and bluegeese fly together?

Brett Murrell

Brett,

“Snows” and “blues” are simply two color phases of the lesser snow goose. At one time, the blue and white phases were classified as separate species. The scientific name for the blue phase was Chen caerulescens, which translates into “blue goose”. The scientific name for the white phase was Chen hyperborea, which in turn translates into “goose from beyond the north wind”. Today, both color phases are classified together as Chen caerulescens caerulescens. The greater snow goose, which breeds in the eastern arctic, is an entirely different subspecies from the lesser snow goose and is classified as Chen caerulescens atlanticus.

Another common misconception is that blue geese are simply immature snow or white phase geese. The truth is that immature white phase geese are white and immature blue phase geese are blue.

Good luck hunting!

Do you have a question about waterfowl?

Email us as biologist@deltawaterfowl.org - if it's selected for the web site you will receive a Delta T-Shirt!