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Canada Goose

Canada Goose

Branta canadensis

Identify the Canada Goose by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Canada Goose is a large, familiar North American goose with a black head and neck and a crisp white chinstrap. Native to Arctic and temperate North America, many populations migrate while others now stay year-round. It has adapted well to farmland and urban parks, and has been widely introduced in Europe and elsewhere. Its success near people often brings conflict, through droppings, crop damage and bold behaviour.

Did you know?

  • The giant subspecies was thought extinct in the 1950s until a flock was rediscovered in 1962 in Rochester, Minnesota.
  • Flying in V-formation helps geese save energy by riding the upwash of the bird ahead.

Voice

Call

About the species

Identification

A large goose (90–106 cm, wingspan 155–180 cm) with a black neck and head and a white chinstrap; the back is brown and the belly pale, and the black of the neck ends sharply at the base of the neck. Told from Greylag and Bean Geese by the black neck and white chinstrap. It is most easily confused with Barnacle Goose, which is grey above, has black extending over the whole breast and a white face reaching the forehead, and is much smaller. The call is a trumpeting “ah-honk”.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Very large (swan)

Colours

brown, black, white, grey

About the habitat

Lakes, ponds, slow rivers, marshes and coastal bays with nearby grazing areas – fields, lawns, golf courses and parks.

Diet

Mainly grasses, sedges and other green vegetation, aquatic plants and grain; goslings also take small invertebrates.

Behaviour

Usually seen in pairs, family groups or larger flocks, grazing on fields and lawns. Pairs are long-term, and both adults defend the nest and young, often aggressively. It flies in noisy V-formations with honking calls. During the summer moult adults are briefly flightless and stay close to water.

Sources

Photo: Karrackoo, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canadagoose.jpg

Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, XC62259, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://xeno-canto.org/62259

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_goose

See also