Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This tiny relative of the Snow Goose is identical except for being significantly smaller with a proportionally much shorter neck and stubbier bill. Because Ross’s Geese feed more on the surface rather than rooting in muck for submerged food items, their heads can appear much whiter, making them easy to pick out in some mixed flocks. Newly hatched chicks can be yellow or gray, but become identical as their more mature feathers grow in. The oldest known Ross’s Gull survived to be at least 22 years before being killed by a hunter.