Ross's GOOSE 



145 



JUVENILE. In first autumn general colour white, with brownish grey shad- 

 ing on head, usually forming line through eye to hind head, joining its fellow, 

 and continuing down hindneck; foreback, brownish grey, with fainter shading on 

 shorter scapulars; wing, same as adult, but some or all secondaries and tertials 

 show greyish or brown on centres, and primaries mottled with whitish towards 

 bases; jeet, pinkish; bill, greenish, becoming pinkish throughout winter, no pro- 

 tuberances is in adult. After first moult, during following summer, plumage 

 fully adult. 



SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



ADULTS. General effect: A very small, snow-white goose, with black wing- 

 tips; the smallest of our geese, being about the size of a Mallard. Chief distin- 

 guishing features (a) white plumage, with black pri- 

 maries and grey primary coverts, (b) reddish bill, 

 with warty protuberances on base of upper mandible 

 (c) veiy small size. 



This species is identical in plumage with the Snow 

 Geese but can be separated readily from these by its 

 diminutive size, warty protuberances on bill and lack 

 of black "grinning" patch. Features (a) and (b) will 

 distinguish it from all other geese. 



JUVENILES. Similar to juvenile Snow Goose but 

 lack the black "grinning" patch on bill; lighter in gen- 

 eral coloration. See "Description." 



Showing ii'arty protuber- 

 ances on bilL 



FIELD MARKS 



(To be looked for, in winter, in the valleys of central California.) 

 ON THE WATER AND IN FLIGHT. A very small, snow-white goose. The 

 field marks are the same as for the Snow Goose, of which this species is a replica 

 in miniature, being about half the bulk of the Lesser Snow with which it frequently 

 associates. It is much more silent in flight than its larger counterpart. 

 VOICE. The call is luk-luk. 



LIFE STORY 



The beautiful little Ross's Goose is the smallest of our geese, being 

 about the size of a Mallard duck. Up to quite recently all that has been 

 known of this little goose was gleaned during its brief winter sojourns in 



California. "Absolutely nothing seems to be 

 known about its breeding habits in a wild 

 state. Probably nothing will be known until 

 some of the vast unexplored areas in the Arc- 

 tic regions are better known. But these re- 

 gions are so inaccessible that their exploration 

 would involve more time, greater expense, and 

 more enthusiasm than even the valuable re- 

 sults to be attained are likely to warrant. Therefore this and several 

 other similar problems are likely to remain for a long time unsolved." 

 So wrote A. C. Bent in 1925, and his words aptly described the situation 

 up to 1940. 



