From Opus

Photo by Josef
Cayon Lake, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

Branta canadensis

[edit] Identification

76-110 cm

• Light-brown body
• Black neck and head with white chinstrap
• Breast lighter than the rest of the body
• White vent
• Black tail

[edit] Distribution

North America and Canada.

Widespread feral populations throughout Europe from escaped wildfowl collections.

Juveniles
Photo by Daddylion
Grand Rapids, Michigan, June, 2009

[edit] Taxonomy

Ornithologists named the four smallest subspecies of Canada Goose as a separate species in 2004: the Cackling Goose.

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

There are 7 subspecies:

• B. c. moffitti - Large Canada Goose
• B. c. interior - Medium Canada Goose
  • Breeds in northeastern Canada to Greenland
• B. c. canadensis - Medium Canada Goose
  • Breeds in Newfoundland and Labrador
• B. c. maxima - Giant Canada Goose

Photo by Macswede
Hornborgasjön, Sweden, March, 2010

• • Formerly Great Plains, now only in wildlife reserves
• B. c. occidentalis - Dusky Canada Goose
  • Southwestern Alaska
• B. c. fulva - Dusky Canada Goose
  • Coastal southern Alaska to British Columbia
• B. c. parvipes - Lesser Canada Goose
  • Central Alaska to Canadian prairie

[edit] Habitat

Typically wetlands and farmland, occasionally urban settings.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

The nest is placed near water. The clutch of 3-8 eggs is laid in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down. Incubation takes 25–28 days.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes green vegetation, grains, aquatic plants, sometimes small insects and fish.

[edit] Vocalisation

Male and female pair off with ahonk and hink, respectively, while in flight.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Wikipedia
3. "Canada Goose" types in Greenland

• List of references

[edit] External Links