# Snow goose (*Anser caerulescens*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-goose  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The snow goose (Anser caerulescens), also called the blue goose, is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized, migratory, terrestrial herbivore of grassland, with an adult body mass of 2.6 kg and a wingspan of 1.49 m. It lays one clutch per year of 4.5 eggs, incubates them for 23.6 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 2 years. The IUCN Red List assesses the snow goose as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.5 kg – 2.74 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.32 m – 1.65 m |
| Lifespan | 26.6 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 27.5 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 23.6 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.2 – 4.5 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Anseriformes
- family: Anatidae
- genus: Anser
- species: *Anser caerulescens* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Anas borealis*, *Anas coerulescens*, *Anas hyperborus*, *Anser albatus*, *Anser caerulescens*, *Anser caerulescens hyperboreus*, *Anser hyperbo*, *Anser hyperboreus*, *Chen caerulescens*, *Chen hyperboreus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the snow goose?

The snow goose is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup and belongs to the family Anatidae. It is migratory.

### How heavy is a snow goose?

An adult snow goose weighs 2.6 kg, with values from 2.5 to 2.7 kg reported by our sources. Its wingspan is 1.49 m.

### What does the snow goose eat?

The snow goose is a herbivore.

### What habitat does the snow goose live in?

The snow goose lives in grassland and forages on the ground.

### Is the snow goose endangered?

No. The snow goose is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a snow goose live?

The snow goose has a lifespan of 26.6 years, with values up to 27.5 years reported by our sources.

### How many eggs does a snow goose lay?

The snow goose lays 4.5 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 23.6 days.

### Who named the snow goose?

The snow goose, Anser caerulescens, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Snow goose (Anser caerulescens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-goose