Canada Goose 69 



b. Smaller ; wing 15 — 17 ; 16 tail-feathera. B. c. hutchinai, p. 70 



c. Smallest ; wing under 15 ; 14 — 16 tail-feathers. 



B. c. minima, p. 70. 

 B. No white cheek-patch ; head wholly black. 



B. b. glaucogastra, p. 7 1 . 



Canada Goose. Branta canadensis. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 172— Colorado Records — Ridgway 73, p. 188 

 Coues 77, p. 51 ; Drew 85, p. 18 ; Morrison 89, p. 166 ; Cooke 97, pp. 58, 

 156, 196 ; 06, p. 72 ; Henderson 03, p. 234 ; 09, p. 226 ; Rockwell 08, 

 p. 158 ; Warren 09, p. 13. 



Description. — Adult — Head, neck, rump and tail black ; a white 

 patch on the face behind the eye, meeting its fellow below ; upper- 

 parts greyish-brown, with paler tips to many of the feathers, and dusky 

 to blackish on the flight-feathers ; upper tail-coverts white ; below 

 ashy grey, becoming white on the abdomen and under tail- coverts ; 

 tail with eighteen or twenty feathers ; iris brown, biU and legs black. 

 Length about 36-0 ; wing 18-20 ; tail 7-0 ; culmen 2-0 ; tarsus 3-5. 



Young birds have the white of the cheeks speckled with dusky. 



Distribution. — Breeding from Newfoundland to Iowa and the interior 

 of British Columbia northwards ; wintering in the southern United 

 States from Maryland to California. 



In Colorado this is probably the most common of the Wild Geese ; 

 it is known as a simjmer resident, cliiefly in the north, as a winter 

 resident in the south and north, and perhaps most commonly as a 

 migrant. It was found breeding by Coues in a small lake on the 

 southern slopes of North Park many years ago. Carter reports it 

 as breeding in Middle Park, while Cooke discovered that it nested 

 near Niwot in Boulder co. at the low elevation of 5,500 feet. At Barr 

 it is a fairly common winter resident, and still more conmaon on 

 migration. It has been noted by Gale in the Boulder foothills, March 

 17th, by SuUivan at Grand Junction, a large flock, March 18th (Rock- 

 well), and by Smith at Coventry in spring (Warren). It is possible 

 some of these notices refer to the smaller Hutchins's Goose. 



Habits. — ^The familiar " Honk, honk, honk," of the 

 migrating Canada Goose is well known over the greater 

 part of North America, and notwithstanding the many 

 wiles and devices of the gunner they still hold their 

 own. Their flight is strong and steady, and very high 

 up when migrating, the flock forming a V or long line ; 

 when in winter quarters they spend the night on the 



