Animal Photo: Wild Geese

Wild Goose (Canada Goose)

The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body.

The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish the Canada Goose from all other goose species, with the exception of the Barnacle Goose, but the latter has a black breast, and also 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 centimetres (30–43 in) long with a 127–180 centimetres (50–71 in) wingspan. The male usually weighs 3.2–6.5 kilograms (7.1–14 lb), and can be very aggressive in defending territory. The female looks virtually identical but is slightly lighter at 2.5–5.5 kilograms (5.5–12 lb), generally 10% smaller than its male counterpart, and has a different honk. An exceptionally large male of the race B. c. maxima, the "giant Canada goose" (which rarely exceed 8 kilograms (18 lb)), weighed 10.9 kilograms (24 lb)) and had a wingspan of 2.24 metres (7.3 ft)). This specimen is the largest wild goose ever recorded of any species. The life span in the wild is 10–24 years.

(Source: Wikipedia.org)

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