Lesser Snow Geese and Ross's Geese form mixed flocks during winter but differ in family maintenance and social status

Smaller species are less likely to maintain families (or other forms of social groups) than larger species and are more likely to be displaced in competition with larger species. We observed mixed-species flocks of geese in southwest Louisiana and compared frequencies of social groups and success in social encounters of Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens; hereafter Snow Geese) with that of the smaller, closely-related Ross's Geese (C. rossii). Less than 7% of adult and