LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL 231 



liRANTA CANADENSIS MINIMA Ridgway 

 CACKLING GOOSE 



HABITS 



The characters which warrant the separation of the Canada goose 

 group into four subspecies have been so generally misunderstood and 

 so poorly designated in most of the manuals, and the nomenclature 

 of the group has been so variable and puzzling, that much confusion 

 has existed as to the true relationships of the various forms and 

 their distribution. Various theories have been advanced, none of 

 which seem to fit the known facts exactly. Rather than attempt 

 to discuss this complicated systematic question, which would require 

 more space than is warranted in a work on life histories, I would 

 refer the reader to the interesting papers on the subject published 

 by Harry S. Swarth (1913) and J. D. Figgins (1920 and 1922). It 

 seems best, under the circumstances, to follow the classification and 

 nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union Check List 

 until some better arrangement is suggested and proven to be correct 

 by the collection of large enough series of breeding birds to demon- 

 strate the relationships and to outline the breeding ranges of the 

 four forms. It is, however, difficult to explain, under this generally 

 accepted theory, why the breeding ranges of Imtchinsi and minima 

 should overlap so extensively in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, as 

 they are said to do, which is contrary to the rule with subspecies. It 

 is also of interest to note that the downy young of occidentalis and 

 minima resemble each other very closely and are quite different from 

 the downy young of canadensis ; this suggests the possibility of a 

 distinct, dark-breasted, western species. But perhaps both of these 

 matters will be cleared up when more material is collected. 



Spring. — Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) gives the following interesting 

 account of the arrival of these geese at St. Michael, Alaska : 



As May advances and one by one the ponds open, and the earth looks out 

 here and there from under its winter covering, the loud notes of the various 

 wild fowl are heard, becoming daily more numerous. Their harsh and varied 

 cries make sweet music to the ears of all who have just passed the winter's 

 silence and dull monotony, and in spite of the lowering skies and occasional 

 snow squalls everyone makes ready and is oft to the marshes. 



The flocks come cleaving their way from afar, and as they draw near their 

 summer homes raise a chorus of loud notes in a high-pitched tone like the 

 syllable " luk," rapidly repeated, and a reply rises upon all sides, until the 

 whole marsh reechoes with the din, and the newcomers circle slowly up to the 

 edge of a pond amid a perfect chorus raised by the geese all about, as in con- 

 gratulation. 



Even upon first arrival many of the birds appear to be mated, as I have 

 frequently shot one from a flock and seen a single bird leave its companions 



