Date: 3/4/26 4:40 pm From: Matt Shurtliff via groups.io <mmscornhusker...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] Snow/Ross's isn't on eBird
I see this too, they tend to segregate when present in numbers. You’ll see
an island of Ross’s.
Matt Shurtliff
<mmscornhusker...>
On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM Ross Silcock via groups.io <silcock=
<rosssilcock.com...> wrote:
> Interesting point re distribution of Ross's within Snow flocks. In my
> experience, if there are a large number of Ross's, they tend to sort into
> bunches of Ross's. If there are only a few, they tend to hang around the
> edges of the Snow flock, although that may be because a small number
> randomly dispersed inside the flock could be easily missed.
>
> I'll have to investigate the "tuckiness" tendencies of white geese!
>
> Ross
>
>
> Ross Silcock
>
> Co-editor Birds of Nebraska Online
> Editor Seasonal Reports, Nebraska Bird Review.
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...> on behalf of William Flack
> via groups.io <sparvophile...>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 4, 2026 6:13 PM
> *To:* <NEBirds...> <NEBirds...>
> *Subject:* Re: [NEBirds] Snow/Ross's isn't on eBird
>
> Thanks, Ross! 2% is consistent with the one attempt I made to figure the
> percentage: a medium-sized flock on Cochran Lake in Scotts Bluff County,
> where I went through carefully looking at bills. I figured that of the
> birds whose bills I could see well enough to identify species, about 1 in
> 40 were Ross's.
>
> However, I have to attach a caution to that. I was assuming that I was
> seeing a random sampling of the flock. If head-tucking behavior varies
> between the species, I might've undercounted the tuck-ier species. And if
> Ross's tend to stick together, rather than dispersing randomly among the
> Snows, then my sample might've been biased.
>
> William Flack
> Kearney
>
>
>
>
