Breeding Location:
Open landscapes, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps
Breeding Type:
Monogamous
Breeding Population:
Common to abundant
Egg Color:
White, nest stained
Number of Eggs:
4 - 7
Incubation Days:
25 - 30
Egg Incubator:
Female
Nest Material:
Sticks, grass, weeds, and moss.
Migration:
Migratory
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Overview
Canada Goose: Large, long-necked goose with dark upperparts and paler underparts grading to white on vent. The head and neck are black with white chin bar. Body is usually gray-brown, although varies from dark brown to gray in different races. White semi-circle above black tail is visible in flight.
Range and Habitat
Canada Goose: Breeds from Alaska east to Baffin Island and south to California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Spends winters south to northern Mexico and the Gulf coast.; also a widespread resident in city parks and on reservoirs. Preferred habitats include lakes, bays, rivers, marshes, and stubble fields.
Breeding and Nesting
Canada Goose: Four to seven white eggs are laid in a large nest made of grass and moss, lined with down, and built on the ground near water or on a muskrat lodge; sometimes uses an abandoned Osprey or Bald Eagle nest in a tree. Incubation ranges from 25 to 30 days and is carried out by the female.
Foraging and Feeding
Canada Goose: Eats a variety of grass when foraging terrestrially; also feeds on agricultural crops such as wheat, beans, rice, and corn. Sometimes tips like puddle ducks when feeding on aquatic plants such as wild celery, sea lettuce, and sago pondweed.
Readily Eats
Cracked Corn
Vocalization
Canada Goose: Larger races have a rich, musical honking; smaller races have a high-pitched cackling.
Similar Species
Canada Goose: Brant is smaller, has black breast, white flanks, small white neck patch, and lacks white cheek patch.
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