Ross's Goose

Open encyclopedia reference

Ross's goose (Anser rossii) is a white goose with black wingtips and a relatively short neck. It 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". Like snow geese, Ross's geese may exhibit a darker "blue" phase or morph, though this is extremely rare (<0.01% of adult birds). 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. Ross's goose is named in honor of Bernard R. Ross (1827–1874), who was associated with the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Wikipedia contributors, Ross's goose; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:55:17.845889+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Anser rossii Cassin, 1861

Name authority

Cassin, 1861

Common name

Ross's Goose

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Anseriformes

Family

Anatidae

Genus

Anser

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderAnseriformes
10. familyAnatidae Leach, 1820
11. genusAnser Brisson, 1760
12. speciesAnser rossii Cassin, 1861

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Anser. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 129 records assigned to Anatidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175035 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:66XWT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.