Ross's Goose?

[Per-Gunnar Ostby]

I saw a recent post about IDing a Ross's Goose and it set me to thinking about whether I had gotten any on a recent trip to Bosque. I had noticed that some had a smaller bill than normal but had just assumed they were young. But after going through Wikipedia and the USGS site I am now unsure.

I notice that these do not have have the black patch on the mandible and the bills are noticeably smaller (much more easily seen in some other images with definite Snow Geese).

Here is one shot, and I will post another below.

Any help would be appreciated.

Per-Gunnar

[Per-Gunnar Ostby]

And here is the second one

[Axel Hildebrandt]

The bird in the second image looks like a Ross's Goose for the reasons mentioned.

[Paul Burgess]

Look like Ross' to me too!

[Glen Fox]

Definitely a Ross's Goose. There were quite a few at Bosque in mid-November. They are smaller, don't have a grinning patch, and the bill is much more angular. Like Lesser Snow Geese, the Ross's Goose exists in both the blue and white morph.

Glen Fox

[Doug Brown]

Both photos are Ross's Geese.