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Canada Goose

Branta canadensisOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Canada Goose Portrait
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General

Canada Goose: Large, long-necked goose with dark upperparts and paler underparts grading to white on vent. Head and neck are black with white chin bar. Body is usually gray-brown, although varies from dark brown to gray in different races. White semi-circle above black tail is visible in flight. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Canada Goose: Breeds from Alaska east to Baffin Island and south to California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Spends winters south to northern Mexico and the Gulf coast.; also a widespread resident in city parks and on reservoirs. Preferred habitats include lakes, bays, rivers, marshes, and stubble fields.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"cackle" or "honk-a-lonk"

Interesting Facts

  • At least 11 subspecies of Canada Goose have been recognized and as of 2004 some of the smaller subspecies were designated their own species—the Cackling Goose.
  • While their eggs are incubating females lose their flight feathers, so they cannot fly until after their eggs hatch.
  • Researchers have identified about 13 different calls from Canada Geese. These vary including loud greeting/alarm calls and soft sounds from feeding geese.
  • A group of geese has many collective nouns, including a "blizzard", "chevron", "knot", "plump", and "string" of geese.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Canada Goose
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Branta canadensis
Length25 - 45 Inches
Wingspan75 Inches

Canada Goose

Canada Goose: Large, long-necked goose with dark upperparts and paler underparts grading to white on vent. The head and neck are black with white chin bar. Body is usually gray-brown, although varies from dark brown to gray in different races. White semi-circle above black tail is visible in flight.

● Song: "cackle" or "honk-a-lonk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Canada Goose: Eats a variety of grass when foraging terrestrially; also feeds on agricultural crops such as wheat, beans, rice, and corn. Sometimes tips like puddle ducks when feeding on aquatic plants such as wild celery, sea lettuce, and sago pondweed.

● Breeding & nesting: Canada Goose: Four to seven white eggs are laid in a large nest made of grass and moss, lined with down, and built on the ground near water or on a muskrat lodge; sometimes uses an abandoned Osprey or Bald Eagle nest in a tree. Incubation ranges from 25 to 30 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Canada Goose: Brant is smaller, has black breast, white flanks, small white neck patch, and lacks white cheek patch.

Flight Pattern

Strong deep wing beats., Flies in V formation in migration., Strong powerful direct flight.
Canada Goose Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Canada Goose: Breeds from Alaska east to Baffin Island and south to California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Spends winters south to northern Mexico and the Gulf coast.; also a widespread resident in city parks and on reservoirs. Preferred habitats include lakes, bays, rivers, marshes, and stubble fields.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationCommon to abundant
MigrationMigratory
Weight134.4 Ounces