Canada Goose (Branta canadensis),

Canada Goose From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), also referred to as the Canadian Goose, belongs to the Branta genus of geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey species of the Anser genus. The species name, canadensis, is a New Latin word meaning "of Canada" The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish the Canada Goose from all except the Barnacle Goose, but the latter has a black breast, and grey, rather than brownish, body plumage..

There are seven subspecies of this bird, of varying sizes and plumage details, but all are recognizable as Canada Geese. Some of the smaller races can be hard to distinguish from the newly-separated Cackling Goose.

This species is 76-110 cm (30-43 in) long with a 127-180 cm (50-71 in) wing span. Males usually weigh 3.2–6.5 kg, (7–14 pounds), and can be very aggressive in defending territory. The female looks virtually identical but is slightly lighter at 2.5–5.5 kg (5.5–12 pounds), generally are 10% physically smaller than their male counterparts, and has a different honk. An exceptionally large male of the race B. c. maxima, the "giant Canada goose" (which rarely exceed 8 kg/18 lb), weighed 10.9 kg (24 pounds) and had a wingspan of 2.24 m (88 inches). The life span in the wild is 10-24 years.

By the early 20th century, over-hunting and loss of habitat in the late 1800s and early 1900s had resulted in a serious decline in the numbers of this bird in its native range. The Giant Canada Goose subspecies was believed to be extinct in the 1950s until, in 1962, a small flock was discovered wintering in Rochester, Minnesota by Harold Hanson of the Illinois Natural History Survey. With improved game laws and habitat recreation and preservation programs, their populations have recovered in most of their range,

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