User:Rds.csus/sandbox


 * Underlined portions are from the original article.Ross's Goose (Chen rossii) (23108182770).jpgRoss's goose (Anser rossii) is a white goose with black wingtips and a relatively short neck, and is the smallest of the three light 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 dark phase is extremely rare.

Before the early 1900s, this goose was considered a rare species, possibly as a consequence of open hunting, but numbers have increased dramatically as a result of conservation measures. It is now listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, and is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

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.

Description
Ross's goose have a rounded head above a short neck. The bill is short and triangular, and has a bluish base with warty structures that increase in prominence with age. Adults are identified by all-white secondary feathers, while juveniles' will be dark centered. Females average 6% smaller than males. Legs will begin as olive gray on goslings and turn deep red as they mature.

There is no geographic variation or identified subspecies. Related species include other Anser geese, particularly the snow goose, where the two mtDNA lineages imply frequent hybridization. Two hypotheses about the evolution of Ross's goose are that they arose from a population of snow geese that were isolated by glacial advance or in a refugium that remained ice free.

[Include audio file of bird call]

Distribution
This goose breeds in northern Canada, mainly in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary as well as along the west and south coasts of Hudson Bay and in the western Arctic, and winters primarily in the Central Valley of California as well as in Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and the north-central highlands of Mexico.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not differentiate between light geese species during their Mid-winter Waterfowl Inventory, but data from the Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count indicate a 8,900% increase in Ross's geese numbers over the last 40 years. However, surveys may still show declining local numbers. For example, a 2017 study from Karrak Lake in the Queen Maud Gulf region published an estimate of 446,600 individuals, representing a 28% decrease from the 2016 estimate of 624,100, and an overall decrease of 4% per year from 2008 to 2017 [source].

Ross's goose is a rare vagrant to Western Europe, but it is commonly kept in wildfowl collections, so the true frequency of wild birds is hard to ascertain. Escaped or feral specimens are encountered frequently, usually in the company of other feral geese such as Canada, greylag, and barnacle geese. However, individuals or small groups that seemed to be of natural origin have turned up in the Netherlands and Britain.

Habitat
Landscape in the central Arctic is dominated by flat plains with some rock outcrops and drumlins, wet meadow, and marshy tundra. Vegetation includes patches of dwarf birch, willow, grasses, sedges, and low-growing vascular plants including crowberry, lapland rosebay, and lousewort. Large colonies of nesting birds can cause extensive damage to plants by overgrazing.

Behavior
Ross's geese form large nesting colonies on islands in shallow lakes and adjacent mainland, building nests on the ground made of twigs, leaves, grass, moss, and down. Females lay an average of 4 eggs per clutch and incubate the nest for 21-23 days. A study of ground-based sampling along the McConnell River on the west coast of Hudson Bay reported a population of about 81,000 nesting Ross's geese.

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.

Like most geese, they are grazers that feed on grasses, sedges, and small grains. They often forage in large mixed flocks with snow geese.

Effects of Human Activity
The number of nesting birds in the Queen Maud Gulf hit a record low of 2,000-3,000 in the early 1950s due to extensive shooting and trapping and their subsequent sale in California markets. Hunting of Ross's goose was made illegal in the U.S. in 1931, and when populations on wintering grounds began to increase again, restricted hunting was introduced. Today, the Ross's goose is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Pesticides and Toxicants

Degradation of Habitat

Measures Taken
Managed Wetlands

-- Queen Maud Ramsar site

xxx

Ross's Goose
This article is a stub. I would model it after other bird pages (like for the Canada goose) with information about distribution, behavior, threats, and relationship to humans.

COMMENT: Sounds good! Also I think you told me this species is dependent on particular managed wetlands, which would make it relate to the class better. Julianfulton (talk) 21:24, 22 February 2019 (UTC)