Emperor Goose

The Emperor Goose is a distinctive, range-restricted goose breeding along the coasts of western Alaska and eastern Siberia and wintering almost entirely along rocky shorelines and tidal flats of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula, rarely straying far from salt water at any season. Its bold scalloped body pattern is unlike that of any other goose.

Body feathers are blue-gray, each broadly tipped first in black then white, producing a crisp, repeating scalloped or scaled pattern across the back and flanks that is unmatched by any other goose species and instantly recognizable even from a single feather. The head and back of the neck are white, frequently stained rust-orange from iron-rich feeding substrates. The throat and foreneck are black, and the bird has a notably short neck and stocky build with orange-yellow legs and a small bill with a pink base.

Sexes are alike. Juveniles lack the white head, appearing overall dusky gray-brown with a less crisply defined scalloped pattern, gaining the adult head coloring and sharper scaling over their first year.

Breeds along coastal tundra of western Alaska and adjacent eastern Siberia. Winters almost exclusively along rocky and tidal shorelines of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula, rarely moving far inland or far south.

Forages along shorelines and tidal flats for aquatic vegetation, mollusks, and other invertebrates, as well as grazing on tundra plants during the breeding season. Nests on the ground on open tundra, often near the coast. Gregarious in relatively small flocks compared to other geese, giving low, cackling honks.