Canda Goose or Cackling Goose/Snow Goose hybrid?

[Aaron Tucker]

Out at Aurora Reservoir today saw an interesting goose. It appears to be a Canada or Cackling goose but is very white. I guess it could be an albino but thought I'd see what you all thought. Any ideas? 

Link to first picture.

Link to second picture

It was at the edge of my lens and not in great light. Sorry for the rough photos. 

Aaron Tucker

Aurora

[Joey Angstman]

Looks like a leucistic Canada Goose to me.

Joey Angstman
Fort Collins, CO

[Jamie Simo]

I have a similar question with a goose I saw in Frederick on Monday.  My first thought was that it was a blue morph Snow Goose, but the proportions seem off.  Could this be a blue morph Ross's Goose?  Or maybe a hybrid of some sort?  Its body is very dark.

Jamie Simo

Longmont

[Nicholas Komar]

These tiny black geese with white heads are thought to be hybrid Ross x Cackling Goose. 

Nick Komar

Fort Collins

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[quet...@comcast.net]

Dark phase Ross's Goose (which is extremely rare) has a different plumage pattern than this bird, a pattern more like Blue Goose, with black and white pattern on neck and head - see Sibley field guide for example.

Nick K

Ft Collins

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From: "Christy P" <passe...@gmail.com>
To: iron...@gmail.com, quet...@comcast.net
Cc: cob...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 8:43:00 PM
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Re: Canda Goose or Cackling Goose/Snow Goose hybrid?

Nick - for my knowledge, could you define a little further what separates these from full Ross's Goose? I haven't seen many, so further information would be very helpful.

Thanks

Christy Payne

Wheat Ridge 

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[Migrant]

I had a virtually identical goose at Aurora Reservoir, and based on very white, round head, short stubby bill with no trace of "grin patch", and size, I was calling it a Ross's x cackling. The one I was was mingling with cacklers and was almost exactly the same size.

Norm Lewis

Lakewood

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[Migrant]

"Was was"? I of course meant to say "the one I saw was"......I have photos (on my other computer, of course) that show a bird virtually identical to yours.

Norm

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[Christy P]

Nick - for my knowledge, could you define a little further what separates these from full Ross's Goose? I haven't seen many, so further information would be very helpful.

Thanks

Christy Payne

Wheat Ridge 

On Tue, Jan 3, 2017 at 8:34 PM Nicholas Komar <quet...@comcast.net> wrote:

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