chain, is one of the few where foxes were not in- 

 troduced and the only one known to have breed- 

 ing Canada geese at present (Jones 1963, Springer 

 et al. 1978). Possibly islands of the northern Kuril 

 group where geese formerly bred may also be fox- 

 free (Snow 1897). 



Recovery of bands from Buldir Island geese 

 (Springer et al. 1978) shows that hunting pressure 

 in the interior valleys of California is a consider- 

 able mortality factor. Avian cholera present in the 

 San Joaquin Valley produced some Aleutian Can- 

 ada goose mortality (D. W. Woolington et al. 

 unpubl. ms.). 



PRIORITY INDEX 



24 



DESCRIPTION 



The Aleutian Canada goose is a small goose, 

 slightly larger than the mallard, with grayish 

 brown body and black tail, neck, bill, feet and 

 legs; white cheeks; a ring at the base of the black 

 neck; and black belly, rump, and tail coverts. It 

 is smaller and paler than B. c. occidentalis and 

 about the same size and color as B. c. tavemeri, 

 except that adults almost always have a relatively 

 wide white collar which tavemeri usually lacks, 

 and the bUl is more tapered and pointed at the 

 tip when viewed from above. Legs are relatively 

 long. It is slightly larger than B. c. minima, with 

 longer legs and a more tapered or pointed bill. 

 The white collar is usually absent in minima (Del- 

 acour 1951, 1954; J. W. Aldrich ms.; Palmer 

 1976). Nelson (1883) commented on the con- 

 spicuous wide white collars of Aleutian Island 

 Canada geese. 



Size.- Male: Wing 356 to 425 mm (av. 386.4 

 mm);tail llOto 137mm(av. 125.8 mm);exposed 

 culmen 31 to 38 mm (av. 34.4 mm); tarsus 67 to 

 88 mm (av. 80.5 mm); middle toe without claw 

 58 to 69 mm (av. 63.2 mm). 



Size.- Female: wing 358 to 390 mm (av. 

 372.6 mm); tail 110 to 130 mm (av. 122.8 mm); 

 exposed culmen 30 to 35 mm (av. 32.7 mm); tar- 

 sus 69 to 80 mm (av. 74.2 mm); middle toe with- 

 out claw 53 to 66 mm (av. 59.4 mm) Q. W. 

 Aldrich ms.). 



Shape of bill.- The more tapered bill of B. c. 

 leucopareia is shown by the ratio of width of bill 

 at base to width at tip (base of nail). Based on 



averages of those measurements, bills of leu- 

 copareia are 7% more tapered than tavemeri and 

 9% more tapered than minima. The more pointed 

 appearance of leucopareia bills is due to greater 

 length of the nail in proportion to its width. Based 

 on ratio of nail length to width leucopareia bills 

 are 8% more pointed than tavemeri and 16% 

 more pointed than minima (J. W. Aldrich ms.). 



Weight.- A female specimen from Amchitka 

 Island, 10 May 1959, 1927 g (Kenyon 1961); a 

 female specimen from Amchitka Island, 10 June 

 1952, 1954 g (Krog 1953). Avg. Qohnson et al.): 

 males - 1946 g (Buldir I.), 2110 g (California); 

 females - 1703 g (Buldir I.), 1863 g (California). 



Juvenile plumage is somewhat paler ventraUy, 

 with more blended overall coloring. The white 

 neck ring is indistinct or absent (J. W. Aldrich 

 ms.. Palmer 1976, D. H. Johnson et al. unpubl. 

 ms.). Downy young are brownish olive above, 

 whitish yellow below. 



RANGE 



B. c. leucoparei formerly bred in the Com- 

 mander and northern Kuril Islands, U.S.S.R., and 

 the western Aleutian Islands from Attu east to 

 Atka and Islands of Four Mountains (Nelson 

 1883, Turner 1886, Stejneger 1885 and 1887, 

 Snow 1897, Clark 1910, Bent 1925, Jochelson 

 1933, Murie 1959, Delacour 1954, Johansen 

 1961); possibly also in Pribilof Islands (Delacour 

 1954), but not according to Nelson (1883). It 

 now breeds only on Buldir Island in Aleutian Is- 

 lands, as far as is known Qones 1963, Murie 

 1959, Springer et al. 1978). The last breeding re- 

 cord for other Aleutian Islands was on Agattu in 

 1937 (Murie 1959). The species has apparently 

 been extirpated on the Commander Island since 

 1914 Qohansen 1961). 



This species formerly wintered in Japan (Aus- 

 tin and Kuroda 1953), and is reported also to 

 have wintered from British Columbia south to 

 California (Delacour 1951) and northwestern 

 Mexico (Hansen and Nelson 1964). The popula- 

 tion in Japan was reduced to one bird in the fall 

 of 1978 (Y. Yokota pers. comm.). At present, it 

 winters chiefly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

 Valleys, Monro Bay, on the southeast Farallon 

 Island of California, in the lower Colorado River 

 Valley of Arizona and Mexico (Wollington et al. 

 unpubl. ms.); and in northwestern Mexico near 

 Obregon, Sonora Q. W. Aldrich ms.). There are 



