I think Mike is right on this, and I was wrong. On further reading, the ratio of bill length to neck thickness is normal for Ross’s and too short for a hybrid, and the impression of a long bill was the main thing bothering me in the field. Mike’s photos also clearly show a round-headed, short-necked bird that looks right for Ross’s.

Carl Winstead
Galloway

> On Dec 26, 2015, at 3:25 PM, Subscribe Ohio-Birds Mh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Hi Carl,
> 
> Thanks, I was able to read your notes on your ebird checklist for this goose.  However, I believe this is neither a hybrid nor even a backcross.  I spent over 20 minutes observing this bird upclose. While I noticed the "grinning" patch like you did, it turned out to be mud.  When the goose was dabbling in the mud it would line where the upper and lower mandibles meet creating that effect.  Then the goose would swish its bill in the water and it would clean it off.  The overall size and bill size seemed consistent with a Ross's.  With all due respect, there was nothing about this goose that led me to believe it was anything other than a Ross's Goose.
> Here is a link to the photos I took of this bird:
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/procana/albums/72157662656527282
> 
> Respectfully,
> Mike H.
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________
> 
> Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
> Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
> 
> 
> You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
> listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
> Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]