I saw these two ducks/geese the first time at Santa Fe Dam on March 25, 2021 Their size is much smaller than regular goose. They looked very delicate. When I checked the information at first, I saw the name “Snow Goose” and I thought it fits its appearance perfectly. But Google Lens keeps showing another name, “Ross’s Goose”, at the same time. After doing some research and comparisons, I learned that the appearance of the Ross’s Goose is similar to the Snow Goose but it is about 40% smaller and the bill is smaller in proportion to its body and lacks “black lips”.
我在2021.03.25 Santa Fe Dam第一次看到這兩隻鴨/鵝的時候，感覺它的體型比一般的鵝小許多，很秀氣。原本查資料的時候，一看到雪雁這個名字，我想很符合它的外觀，但是Google Lens 卻又一直同時出現細嘴雁這個種類的名字，再做些比較，才知道細嘴雁的外觀類似於雪雁，但比它小約40％，而且它的喙較小，且沒有黑唇。
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Notes 筆記
- Ross’s goose is the smallest of the three “white geese” that breed in North America. It is similar in appearance to a white-phase snow goose, but about 40% smaller. Other differences from the snow goose are that the bill is smaller in proportion to its body and lacks “black lips”.
- The Ross’s goose is named in honor of Bernard R. Ross, who was associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Members of the Hudson’s Bay Company were the first to discover the arctic nesting grounds of Ross’s geese in 1940.
- Ross’s Geese breed only in Canada, nesting in dry, low arctic tundra, usually near areas rich in sedges and grasses, often in patches of dwarf birch and willow on islands in small lakes.
- These birds migrate from their Canadian nesting grounds by mid-October, probably in response to limited food before freezing temperatures set in, and begin their return in mid-April to May.
- Ross’s Geese eat plant matter, rarely insects. Like most geese, they are grazers that feed on grasses, sedges, and small grains. They often forage in large mixed flocks with snow geese.
- 細嘴雁是在北美繁殖的三種“白雁”中最小的雁。它的外觀類似於雪雁，但比它小約40％。與雪雁的其他不同之處在於它的喙的比例較小，且沒有“黑唇”。
- 細嘴雁是為紀念伯納德·羅斯(Bernard R. Ross)而命名的，羅斯與加拿大西北地區的哈德遜灣公司(Hudson’s Bay)有關。哈德遜灣公司的成員最早於1940年發現細嘴雁的北極築巢地。
- 細嘴雁只在加拿大繁殖，築巢在乾燥的北極低寒帶苔原中，通常靠近莎草和草叢豐富的地區，在矮湖中的小塊樺樹和柳樹上。
- 這些雁可能在10月中旬從加拿大的築巢地遷移，這可能是避免在凍結溫度時食物有限，並在4月中旬至5月開始返回家園。
- 細嘴雁吃植物，很少吃昆蟲。像大多數雁一樣，它們都是以草，莎草和小穀物為食。它們經常在大群混有雪雁的草地上覓食。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Ross's goose
- All about birds: Ross's Goose
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