Ross’ Geese (Anser Rossii) are named after Bernard Rogan Ross, the chief trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the mid-19th century. The small Ross’ Geese (Anser Rossii) have round heads, short, thick, deeply furrowed necks. Gander bills show bluish, warty protuberances about the base, bringing about the colloquial names Scabby nosed or Wartnosed Geese. Their higher-pitched, shrill voices have earned them the name Squealer. Ross’ Geese (Anser Rossii) also have a rare blue morph. These small dark-morph birds could represent hybrids with Blue Geese, but the weights, measurements and bill configuration of a few conform to pure Ross’ Geese (Anser Rossii). However, because Ross’ Geese (Anser Rossii) and Snow Geese (Anser Caerulescens) nest together in mixed colonies, eggs may be dumped into each other’s nests, with offspring from mixed clutches imprinting on whichever parent rears them. They nest on lowland tundra or island-studded lakes and deltas, the geese are partial to large islands featuring little cover. Eggs are normally laid within a week of arrival, and nests are fiercely defended. The brief incubation period of 22 days is shorter even than Snow Geese (Anser Caerulescens). Following hatching, families quickly abandon nesting islands that offer little food and shift to lakes and riverside marshes. Overland journeys may encompass some distance, and a multitude of goslings fall prey to gulls, jaegers and Arctic foxes. In common with Snow Geese (Anser Caerulescens), goslings are polymorphic, with color gradations ranging from pure yellow to gray – the darker shades predominate by about two to one. At approximately three weeks of age, goslings from different broods may combine in crèches, sometimes in large aggregations of up to 200 young. Early dissolution of family units deviates from typical goose behavior. Young begin flying in late August at merely 5.5 weeks of age. Their compressed breeding cycle is mandatory because spring comes late in the far north and winter arrives early, with lakes starting to freeze again only about six weeks after hatching has occurred.
