Canada Goose-looking birds come in widely different sizes and ornithologists, who love obsessing about taxonomy, have a lot of fun with the subject.
The subject comes up because we shot quite a few Cacklers in Canada in October, which were probably what we used to call Hutchins' or Richardsons' Goose.
These birds are high-Arctic breeders, and only winter on the East coast as rare vagrants. Bird Dog says he has seen them occasionally on the East coast. Their CLO link here.
Photo: Canada Goose with Cackling Goose
For the part of the Wikipedia entry which reviews all of the taxonomy, see continuation page below.
Here's what Wikipedia says:
The Cackling Goose was originally considered to be the same species or a subspecies of the Canada Goose, but in July 2004 the American Ornithologists' Union's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature split the two into two species, making Cackling Goose into a full species with the scientific name Branta hutchinsii. The British Ornithologists Union followed suit in June 2005.
The AOU has divided the many associated subspecies between both animals. To the present species were assigned:
• Richardson's Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii)
• Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia)
• Small Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii minima)
• part of "Lesser complex" (Branta hutchinsii taverneri)
• Bering Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii asiatica) - doubtfully distinct from B. h. leucopareia; extinct (c.1929)
The distinctions between the two geese have led to a great deal of confusion and debate among ornithologists. This has been aggravated by the overlap between the small types of Canada Goose and larger types of Cackling Goose. Most interestingly, the old "Lesser Canada Goose" was believed to be a partly hybrid population, with the birds named taverneri considered a mixture of minima, occidentalis and parvipes. In addition, it has been determined that the Barnacle Goose is a derivative of the Cackling Goose lineage, whereas the Hawaiian Goose is an insular representative of the Canada Goose.
