Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
Branta canadensis 4
The Canada Goose is the goose species most familiar to people living across much of North America, often occurring in large numbers in lakes and parks near cities and towns. This large goose may be anywhere from 30 to 43 inches long with a large body and short tail. Canada Geese may be identified by their brown backs, pale bellies, black necks, and large white “chinstrap.” Male and female Canada Geese are similar to one another in all seasons. The Canada Goose breeds widely across North America. Migratory breeding populations breed across Canada and winter in the northern half of the United States, while many populations living in human-altered environments are non-migratory. The Canada Goose has also been introduced in Britain, Ireland, and portions of western continental Europe. Wild-type Canada Geese breed in lakes and freshwater marshes, wintering in similar habitats. Non-migratory Canada Geese are habitat generalists, living in ponds and lakes as well as human-altered environments (including golf courses, city parks, and reservoirs). This species subsists primarily on plant matter, including aquatic vegetation and terrestrial grasses. Canada Geese are often present in large numbers where ducks and other waterfowl are fed by humans. Canada Geese may be best observed foraging for food; both on land, where they may be seen walking on the shore or on grass further inland; or in the water, where they may be seen submerging their upper bodies to seek out aquatic vegetation. They may also be observed in the in large “V”-shaped flocks flying on migration or between bodies of water. This species is primarily active during the day.
Summary 5
The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large wild goose species with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, its migration occasionally reaches northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; it tends to be found on or close to fresh water.
Description 6
The black head and neck with a white "chinstrap" distinguish the Canada goose from all other goose species, with the exception of the cackling goose and barnacle goose (the latter, however, has a black breast and grey rather than brownish body plumage).
The seven subspecies of this bird vary widely in size and plumage details, but all are recognizable as Canada geese. Some of the smaller races can be hard to distinguish from the cackling goose, which slightly overlap in mass. However, most subspecies of the cackling goose (exclusive of Richardson's cackling goose, B. h. hutchinsii) are considerably smaller. The smallest cackling goose, B. h. minima, is scarcely larger than a mallard. In addition to the size difference, cackling geese also have a shorter neck and smaller bill, which can be useful when small Canada geese comingle with relatively large cackling geese. Of the "true geese" (i.e. the genera Anser, Branta or Chen), the Canada goose is on average the largest living species, although some other species that are geese in name, if not of close relation to these genera, are on average heavier such as the spur-winged goose and Cape Barren goose.
Canada geese range from 75 to 110 cm (30 to 43 in) in length and have a 127–185 cm (50–73 in) wingspan. Among standard measurements, the wing chord can range from 39 to 55 cm (15 to 22 in), the tarsus can range from 6.9 to 10.6 cm (2.7 to 4.2 in) and the bill can range from 4.1 to 6.8 cm (1.6 to 2.7 in). The largest subspecies is the B. c. maxima, or the giant Canada goose, and the smallest (with the separation of the cackling goose group) is B. c. parvipes, or the lesser Canada goose. An exceptionally large male of race B. c. maxima, which rarely exceed 8 kg (18 lb), weighed 10.9 kg (24 lb) and had a wingspan of 2.24 m (7.3 ft). This specimen is the largest wild goose ever recorded of any species.
The male Canada goose usually weighs 2.6–6.5 kg (5.7–14.3 lb), averaging amongst all subspecies 3.9 kg (8.6 lb). The female looks virtually identical, but is slightly lighter at 2.4–5.5 kg (5.3–12.1 lb), averaging amongst all subspecies 3.6 kg (7.9 lb), and generally 10% smaller in linear dimensions than the male counterparts. The honk refers to the call of the male Canada goose, while the hrink call refers to the female goose. The calls are similar, however, the hrink is shorter and more high-pitched than the honk of males.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Bill MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bill MacIndewar
- (c) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Canada-Goose-Szmurlo.jpg/460px-Canada-Goose-Szmurlo.jpg
- (c) Alan D. Wilson, www.naturespicsonline.com, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Canada_goose_-_natures_pics.jpg/460px-Canada_goose_-_natures_pics.jpg
- Adapted by Claire O'Neill from a work by (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818156
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branta_canadensis
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose
