Aleutian Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii leucopareia

Aleutian Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii leucopareia. Photograph taken in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, January 2013.

Background and Identification

The Aleutian Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii leucopareia, is a member of the Anatidae Family of Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl. The Aleutian Cackling Goose is the fourth subspecies of Cackling Geese, named for its breeding grounds in the Aleutian Islands. They are large in stature, weighing 1.7-2.1 kg (3.7-4.6 lbs) at maturity. It wasn’t until 2004 that the Cackling Goose was acknowledged as a distinct species from the Canada Goose. The Cackling Goose was named after its call, but most would agree that the high pitch of the call makes it sound more like a yelp than a cackle. Although the two species have separate geographical zones, there is a hybrid zone between 59°N and 60°N in the subarctic to arctic zones. The populations there are most likely sympatric, meaning that they occupy the same geographical range without inbreeding.

The Aleutian Cackling Goose is a small and short-necked goose with a very short bill. The head and neck are black, except for white cheeks that meet under the chin forming a band. The chest of this species is either white, pale grey or greyish brown depending on the individual. There is usually a large white color separating the chest from the neck. The bill, legs, and feet are black.

Habitat and Geographical Range

Cackling Geese are found in all types of habitats and elevations, including treeless and forested areas; prairies and parklands; flat, high mountain meadows, and areas of human habitation. They are almost exclusively herbivorous, eating grasses, leaves, sedges, other green monocots, seasonal berries, seeds, and submerged aquatic vegetation in wetlands.

In Mexico, they are known to winter within the Atlantic Slope in the States of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz, within the Pacific Slope in the State of Baja California, and in the central plateau in the States of Durango, Jalisco, Sonora, and Chiapas.

Common Misidentifications

The species that most closely resembles the Cacking Goose is the Canada Goose

Conservation Status

From a conservation perspective, the Aleutian Cackling Goose is currently in the IUCN category of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations.