Farmoor: 24th September

One for the geneticists - An intriguing family party of Snow Geese showing two adults (one blue/dark phase & one white phase) and two juveniles (one blue/dark phase and one white phase). Mixed colour pairings are somewhat unusual because Snow Geese tend to pair with the same plumage type and also because the ratio of blue birds in the Farmoor flock has been very low at around 5%.  As the blue colour is the dominant gene the presence of a white juvenile would indicate that this blue phase adult is not a pure form but a heterozygous bird carrying both blue and white genes.