Cackling Goose

A waterfowl native to North America, the Cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) is a member of the Anatidae family, which includes ducks, swans, and geese. With round black heads and white chinstraps against a brown body, they almost mirror their closest relative, the more familiar Canada goose. Both were initially considered the same species, but their differences in size, voice, breeding habitat, and genetics have prompted the American Ornithlogists’ Union’s Committee on Classification and Nomenclature to separate them.

Often cackling raucously in flight, these geese are incredibly well-suited to adapt to any habitat, ranging from forests and meadows to tidal flats and marshes. They mate for life, opting for a new partner only after losing an old one, thus exemplifying monogamy in the animal kingdom.

Subspecies

There are five subspecies of the cackling goose.

• Richardson’s cackling goose (B. h. hutchinsii)
• Aleutian cackling goose (B. h. leucopareia)
• Small cackling goose (B. h. minima)
• Taverner’s cackling goose (B. h. taverneri)
• Bering cackling goose (B. h. asiatica) (Extinct)

Description

Size: Length: Body – 63 to 65 cm (25 to 26 inches);  Wingspan – 108 to 112 cm (43 to 44 inches)

Weight: 49.3–84.0 oz (1,400 – 2,380 g)

Body and Coloration: They have black, rounded heads and short necks, along with dark tails contrasted by white plumage under them. The females look almost identical to males but have notably lighter plumage.

The Taverner’s goose is the largest subspecies, with a pale brown body and a bold white collar, while Small Cackling geese are the darkest and smallest, with chocolate brown bodies and no neck collar. However, the prominent white ‘chinstrap’ extending from ear to ear is standard to all. The breast, abdomen, and flanks range from light gray to chocolate brown, either blending into the neck or being set apart from it by the collar. The back and scapulars are darker in shade, and the rump is blackish, with a U-shaped white band. They have a short and dark bill, with epidermal serrations enabling efficient grazing.

Distribution

Cackling Goose are known for their extensive migration in flocks. Native to North America, they breed in the Arctic tundra during summer, flying southward in search of warmth as the winter approaches.

Its largest subspecies, taverneri, breeds from northeastern Alaska to Canada and winters in the southwestern U.S., while the smallest, minima, breeds in western Alaska and winters in Oregon and California. 

The subspecies hutchinsii usually breeds in central and eastern Canada, wintering in the southern Great Plains, with small numbers also found in the east of North America. The Aleutian geese or leucopareia breeds exclusively in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and winters in central California.

Some flock populations of these subspecies even migrate as far as Mexico, often reaching the Hawaiian Islands.

Habitat

They are found in a wide range of habitats in temperate and low-arctic regions, including coastal plains, prairies, high mountain meadows, and forested areas. Their preferred nesting sites are isolated or semi-isolated remote areas close to bodies of water, such as lakes and ponds, streams, and marshes.

The Aleutian subspecies specifically nest on south-facing turfs above sea cliffs, while the Richardson subspecies nest on cliffs and steep rock slopes.

During migration, they take refuge in agricultural fields, pastures, tidal flats, and upland heath near slow-moving rivers, salt and freshwater marshes, and bays.

Diet

Cackling geese are efficient grazers, feeding almost entirely on graminoids like grasses, sedges and plant matter like leaves, seeds, berries, roots, and algae. Flocks of geese often feed on leftover cultivated grains in agricultural fields, especially when migrating or during winter.

They dip their necks in and out of the water, just like dabbling ducks, to procure aquatic invertebrates, like crustaceans and mollusks, during the juvenile stage of development. These invertebrates have high nutritional value and thus fulfill the requirements of a developing young. During times of scarcity of resources, they can survive for about a month without food.

Behavior

• During migration, flocks of Cackling Geese traverse the skies in striking V-shaped formations, communicating with a distinctive flight call. This high-pitched yelp sounds more like a constant cackle than the usual honking of the Canada geese. The females have a softer, less piercing call than the males. Both sexes communicate through various calls on the breeding grounds, including murmuring and barking.

• They fight with their conspecifics, grabbing them at their throats with their bills and flailing their wings to land blows on their bodies. During an intense threat display, the bill is opened, the tongue raised, and the feathers increasingly vibrated.

Lifespan

On average, cackling geese have a lifespan of 10-25 years in the wild. The oldest recorded Cackling goose was 22 years and 8 months old when he was killed in Oregon in 2010. When in captivity, they can survive over 40 years.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

They are monogamous, engaging in life-long pair bonds during spring migration. Although the pairing age varies, it usually occurs in the second or third year after birth. These pairs maintain their bond by a characteristic display called the ‘Triumph Ceremony’ in spring. In such a display, the males and females call in unison, spreading their wings and stretching their necks. The female then selects a nesting site near waterbodies, scraping a basin-like hole in the ground with leaves, sticks, lichen, and moss to construct a nest (about 6 inches in diameter) lined with down feathers.

After laying 4 to 6 white eggs, the mother incubates them for about 25 days while the father monitors predators lurking around. They cover their eggs with their down feathers during feeding and bathing breaks. Though the goslings take their first flight 6 to 7 weeks after hatching, they remain with their parents for the next year or so. Their parents lead them in the style of a ‘parade’ to coastal staging areas for molting.

Predators

In North America, young cackling geese are preyed upon by Golden and Bald Eagles, while American minks, Arctic foxes, and Glaucous Gulls mainly attack the juveniles.

Adaptations

• The bill is short, stout, and flat, with epidermal serrations enabling efficient grazing of plants. 
• They have powerful jaws for extracting rhizome bulbs and removing kernels from corn cobs.

Conservation Status

The Cackling goose is listed under the Least Concern category of the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.

By the early 20th century, overhunting and habitat loss in their native ranges had caused a drastic decline in their population. Also, the entry of foxes into the Aleutian Islands for the fur trade almost eliminated the Aleutian subspecies, pushing them under the Endangered Species Act from 1973 to 2001. However, recently improved game laws and conscious restoration activities have recovered their sinking population.