Snow or Ross's?

[KevinC]

I came across an old photo from years ago in Ontario and I'm unsure whether this is a Ross's Goose - which was pretty rare for Toronto in the late '90s - or just a Snow Goose, which was still an uncommon bird, but not nearly as much so as a Ross's. I've been trying to locate the old rare bird records, but haven't had success so far.
Any thoughts on which one this is?


Ross's or Snow by Kevin C, on Flickr

This other photo is extremely fuzzy, but shows the size compared to the Canada Geese nearby.


Ross's or Snow 2 by Kevin C, on Flickr

[Ben]

To me, the size is more like a Snow, but beak looks more like Ross's.

I don't want to commit to one.

[Jamie]

The beak looks good for a Ross's. The size seems OK as well, looking at pictures of Ross's Geese next to Canada Geese. But of course there's the possibility of a Snow x Ross's which is not uncommon.

[KevinC]

Just looked closer at the original photo and there is a distinct blueish-grey patch at the base of the beak. There was a record in March of 1997 of a Ross's in Etobicoke (which is where this photo was taken), so I'm going to do more digging. The beak in the original photo seems to have a fairly black line like a Snow, so it could be a hybrid - I'm hoping I can track down the record photos to see what that bird looked like.

[KevinC]

Found this article which confirms it as a Ross's, as the location (Humber Bay West) is precisely where I was (the original info I found only said "Etobicoke" which isn't very specific!): www.torontobirding.ca/toc-docs/TorontoBirds_2007-11.pdf

Crazy how different the head shape looks depending on whether in flight or feeding compared to standing or swimming!
Thanks for your input, folks!

[Gord]

Kevin, good stuff!

I might have leaned towards Snow but would have shared that with some hesitation. Glad you were able to find more details to help you.