Species authority page

Snow goose

Anser caerulescens · Geese · Waterfowl · Migratory game birds

Snow goose (Anser caerulescens): White morph: all white with black wingtips and pink-orange bill and legs. Blue morph: gray-brown body and wings with a white head. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Snow goose — verified North Ground species photograph
North Ground · All rights reserved
Scientific name
Anser caerulescens
Family
Anatidae
Range
Breeds in Alaska and Arctic Canada; winters across the Plains, Gulf Coast, Atlantic coast and elsewhere in the US.
Biology

How to identify it

White morph: all white with black wingtips and pink-orange bill and legs. [1]

Blue morph: gray-brown body and wings with a white head. [1]

Immatures are grayer (white morph) or mostly dark brown (blue morph). [1]

Greater (larger, eastern Canada) and lesser forms are recognised; morphs interbreed. [1]

Compared with the greater white-fronted goose: Compare blue-morph snow geese with white-fronted geese. [1]

Compared with the domestic goose: Compare white-morph birds with white domestic geese. [1]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Breeds on Arctic tundra near water; winters in coastal marshes, estuaries, freshwater marshes and farmland. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

High-pitched barking calls (howk-howk). [1]

Walks to feed on land or in shallow water, eating roots, leaves and seeds of grasses and sedges, and waste grain in winter fields. [1]

Migrates long distances in flocks, sometimes at high altitude, using traditional stopovers. [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Breeds in Alaska and Arctic Canada; winters across the Plains, Gulf Coast, Atlantic coast and elsewhere in the US.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society