Cackling Goose

Description:

Basically a smaller version of the Canada goose (Branta canadensis). Approximately a third the size, shorter neck and a shorter and more triangular bill. In pic 2 you can see the size differential with the Canada goose in the middle and the Cackling geese all around it.

Habitat:

Spotted at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.

Notes:

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 (AOU) 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 (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)—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. A recent proposed revision by Harold Hanson suggests splitting Canada and cackling goose into six species and 200 subspecies. The radical nature of this proposal has provoked surprise in some quarters; Richard Banks of the AOU urges caution before any of Hanson's proposals are accepted.- https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/59220-B...