From Opus

Photo by Josef.
Photo taken: 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.

(Juv)
Photo by Daddylion
Grand Rapids, MI , goslings. June, 2009

[edit] Taxonomy

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

There are 7 subspecies:^[1]

• B. c. moffitti - Large Canada Goose
• B. c. interior - Medium Canada Goose
  • Breeds in northeastern Canada
• B. c. canadensis - Medium Canada Goose
  • Breeds in Newfoundland and Labrador
• B. c. maxima - Giant Canada Goose
  • 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 Colombia
• B. c. parvipes - Lesser Canada Goose
  • Central Alaska to Canadian prairie

[edit] Habitat

Typically wetlands and farmland, occasionally urban settings.

[edit] Behaviour

The nest is placed near water; 3-8 eggs are laid in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down and are incubated for 25–28 days.

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. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.

[edit] External Links