Species: Branta canadensis
Canada Goose
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
A goose of geographically variable size, averaging 64-117 cm long (smallest in the north); black head and neck marked with a broad white chin strap extending from ear to ear; plain large dark wings; black tail with U-shaped white band on rump (NGS 1983).
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Branta
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Waterfowl
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Anseriformes - Anatidae - Branta - (AOU 1983). B. hutchinsii is now recognized based on genetic studies, including recent work with mitochondrial DNA (AOU 2004). Mitochondrial DNA data indicate that Canada goose subspecies fall clearly into two sister groups, large-bodied and small-bodied, which share no mtDNA types (Van Wagner and Baker 1990, Quinn et al. 1991); in contrast, nuclear-gene-encoded protein evidence associates all the subspecies very closely (Van Wagner and Baker 1986, 1990).
Ecology and Life History
A goose of geographically variable size, averaging 64-117 cm long (smallest in the north); black head and neck marked with a broad white chin strap extending from ear to ear; plain large dark wings; black tail with U-shaped white band on rump (NGS 1983).
Short General Description
A goose.
Migration
true - true - true - Atlantic Flyway population consists of migrant geese and a resident population which generally migrates only short distances; migrant population breeds primarily in Labrador, northern Quebec, and James Bay area and winters south to North Carolina, western Pennsylvania, the western Carolinas, and Mississippi Flyway states.
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Grazes on marsh grasses, sprouts of winter wheat (spring), grain (fall); eats clover, cattails, bulrushes, algae, pond- weed, and other plants. Feeds in shallows, marshes, fields. Also eats mollusks and small crustaceans (Terres 1980). Subspecies OCCIDENTALIS of west coastal North America: exogenous sources of lipid and protein are important to energy and nutrient requirements of nesting geese (Condor 95:193-210).
Reproduction Comments
Clutch size 2-11 (usually 5-6). Incubation 25-30 days, by female (Harrison 1978). Nestlings precocial. Young tended by both adults, remain with adults until next spring. Some individuals begin breeding at 2 years, most by age 3 years.
Ecology Comments
In winter, flocks foraged up to 48 km from roost in Texas (Glazener 1946).
Length
114
Weight
4741
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-20
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-20
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
H - 2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Winters from the southern part of the breeding range through most of the United States and into northern Mexico. Introduced and established in Great Britain, Iceland, southern Scandinavia, and New Zealand. Accidental in Hawaii, Greater Antilles, and the Bahamas.
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)