Canada Goose Species, Ranges, Identification & Breeding

Canada Goose Information Page

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In the past, the Cackling Goose was considered to be either the same species (conspecific) or a subspecies of the Canada Goose. In July 2004, the American Ornithologists' Union's Committee split them up into two separate species based on genetic studies and differences in size, voice and breeding habitat: the larger bodied Canada Goose and the smaller-bodied Cackling Goose.

Canada Geese are darker in plumage as we go westward, and smaller in size as we move northward.

• Atlantic Canada Goose (Branta canadensis canadensis - Linnaeus, 1758) - Nominate Race
  • ID: Large goose with medium grey chest, black neck and front of head, white cheek patches. Males and females look alike.
  • Range:
    • Winter: Along the east coast of the United States, down to North Carolina.
    • Breed in Eastern Labrador, Newfoundland, Anticosti and Magdalen Islands, Canada.
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 26 - 28 days old.


• Interior Canada Goose, Hudson Bay Canada Goose or Todd's Goose (Branta canadensis interior - Todd, 1938)
  • ID: Large goose with medium grey breast, black neck and front of head, white cheek patches. Males and females look alike.
  • Range:
    • Winter: Southern Canada south to Florida and Louisiana, USA.
    • Breed in Northern Quebec, Ontario and eastern Manitoba and southern Hudson Bay (Canada).
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 28 days old.

• Dusky Canada Goose (Branta canadensis occidentalis - Baird, 1858)
  • ID: Medium goose with very dark grey breast, black neck and front of head; and white cheek patches. Males and females look alike.
  • Range:
    • Winter: Oregon, northern USA. Regular visitor to Washington State.
    • Breed in Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet to Copper River Delta in southwestern Alaska.
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 26 - 28 days old.

• Vancouver Canada Goose (Branta canadensis fulva - Delacour, 1951)
  • Range: Breeds along coastal southeastern Alaska, south through northern British Colombia, Canada. This race is mostly sedentary (non-migratory), with only about 2% of the population actually migrating (Ratti and Timm, 1979). Those that do migrate travel south to northern USA for the winter. Regular visitor to Washington State.


• Moffitt Canada Goose (Branta canadensis moffitti - Aldrich, 1946)
  • Range: Great Basin of Canada. Winter visitor and year-round resident in Washington State, USA.

• Giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima - Delacour, 1951)
  • History: In the 1950s, this subspecies was considered extinct. However, in 1962, a small flock was discovered wintering in Rochester, Minnesota, by Harold Hanson of the Illinois Natural History Survey. Following this discovery, intense measures to reintroduce this species in large parts of its former range were successfully implemented. In 2005, its population was estimated to exceed 1.5 million birds (Mowbray et al., 2002; US Fish & Wildlife Service, 2005).
  • ID: The largest of all subspecies. Has a light grey chest, black neck and front of the head, white cheek patches and white spot on black of head-front. Males and females look alike.
  • Range: Coastal western Alaska east to central Manitoba, south to northern United States, south to Mississippi. Northern populations migrate south from their breeding territories to Tennessee and Mississippi valley for the winter. Southern populations are sedentary (non-migratory). It has been recorded as far west as Washington State as a rare winter visitor.
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 26 - 28 days old.

Disputed or Modified Subspecies Status:

• Lesser Canada Goose (Branta canadensis parvipes - Cassin, 1852)
  • Disputed subspecies: might be partly hybrid population.
  • ID: Medium-size goose with medium grey breast, black neck and front of head, white cheek patches. Males and females look alike.
  • Range:
    • Winter: Spend the winters in northern USA south to California east to Louisiana and through to Mexico. Regular (non-breeding) visitor to Washington State.
    • Breeding: Central Alaska eastward to Hudson Bay, Canada and south to Prairie Provinces in western Canada.
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 25 - 28 days old.

The above races (canadensis, interior, maxima, moffitti, parvipes, fulva and occidentalis) are collectively named Greater Canada Goose by BOURC (June 2005)

What was formerly classified as the smallest race of the Canada Goose, the Cackling Goose has now been separated (only listed on this page for completeness):

• Cackling Goose / Baffin Island Canada Goose or Richardson's Goose - Previously considered a subspecies of the Canada Geese (Branta canadensis hutchinsii- Richardson, 1832). In 2004, elevated to a distinct and separate species: Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii)
• ID: Small goose with medium grey breast, black neck and front of head, white cheek patches. Males and females look alike.
• Range:
  • Winter: Spend the winters in northern USA south to California east to Louisiana and through to Mexico. Regular (non-breeding) visitor to Washington State.
  • Breeding: Melville Peninsula, South Hampton, Baffin and Ellesmere Islands, Canada and western Greenland (Coastal western Alaska)
• Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 24 - 26 days old.


• Lesser Canada Goose or Small Cackling Goose (Previously: Branta canadensis minima - Ridgway, 1885) - also separated from the Canada Geese as a subspecies of the Cackling Goose as Branta hutchinsii minima - although some still consider it to be part of the Canada Geese.
  • ID: Small goose with dark grey chest, black neck and front of head, and white cheek patches. Males and females look alike.
  • Range: Western North America
    • Winter: Most winter in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys of California (USA) south to Mexico.
    • Breeding: Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge coastal zone in southwestern Alaska.
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. The nest is placed in grass near water on a slightly elevation location. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 5 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 23 - 24 days old.


• Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia) - previously Aleutian Canada Goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia - Brandt, 1836)
  • Some authorities consider it a subspecies of the Small Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii minima) or the extinct Bering Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii asiatica).
  • ID: Small goose (only slightly larger than a mallard duck) with grey breast, black neck and front of head, white cheek patches that don't meet under the throat, and white ring around the base of the neck. Males and females look alike.
  • Range:
    • Winter in California, near Modesto where they winter primarily on two privately owned ranches and on the adjacent San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge
    • Breeding: Formerly occurred throughout the Aleutian Islands. However, nowadays mostly limited to wildlife refuges.
  • Nesting: Most breeding occurs between April to June. They typically nest on south-facing turf slopes above rocky shorelines. It is guarded by both the male and the female prior to nesting and by male alone once nesting has begun. The average clutch consists of 4 - 6 eggs. The young fledge (are independent) when they are about 24 - 28 days old.


• Cackling or Canada Goose (Branta hutchinsii taverneri previously Branta canadensis taverneri - Delacour, 1951)
  • Disputed subspecies: considered by some to be a mixture of races minima, occidentalis and parvipes.
  • Range: Alaska Peninsula to Mackenzie Delta


• Bering Cackling Goose formerly known as Bering Canada Goose (Branta hutchinsii asiatica) - doubtfully distinct from B. h. leucopareia; extinct (c.1929) - Formerly found on the Commander Islands (aka Komandorski Islands) and Kuril Islands in the North Pacific Ocean in East Asia.

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