234 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



In December, 1912, fourteen men worked continuously for two 

 weeks in the Sacramento Valley to obtain 1,500 geese for a famous 

 "goose-stew" served at Sacramento. Twenty years previously, 

 according to local statements, the same number of geese could have 

 been procured in less than a day and by an even smaller number of 

 men. 



Such, then, has been the history of this and other geese. At the 

 present rate of decrease it will only be a few years before the occur- 

 rence of the Hutchins Goose, once one of the most numerous of all 

 the geese, will be noted with as much interest as is the occurrence of 

 the Emperor Goose at the present time. The only hope of saving our 

 geese lies in rigorous protection for a term of years. 



Cackling Goose 

 Branta canadensis minima Ridgway 



Other names — Cackler; Yelper; Little Squeaking Goose; Brown Brant; 

 Bernicla Jeucoparia ; Branta hutchinsi var. leucoparia; Branta minima 



Description— ^(ittZis, both sexes: Similar to Canada and Hutchins geese 

 but tone of coloration usually much darker and size much smaller. Pattern of 

 head and neck markings extremely variable; cheek patches often wholly 

 separated by black on throat; white collar at base of black neck often con- 

 spicuous, though sometimes wanting. Total length (both sexes) ' ' 2.3.00-25.00 ' ' 

 inches (583-635 mm.) (Ridgway, 1900, p. 117). Males: folded wing 13.27- 

 16.60 (337-422) ; bill along culmen 1.04-1.44 (26.4-36.6) ; tarsus 2.38-3.18 (60.4- 

 80.7) (ten specimens). Females: folded wing 14.50-15.65 (368-398); bill along 

 culmen 1.18-1.36 (30.0-34.6); tarsus 2.57-2.98 (65.2-75.6) (ten specimens); 

 all from California. Juvenile plumage : "... Dull grayish umber-brown; the 

 head and neck almost uniform with the rest of the body and without any 

 trace of the white cheek-patches. . . . Feathers of head, neck, and much of 

 the rest of the body are bordered with a lighter shade than the main part of 

 the feathers" (Nelson, 1887, p. 87). Natal plumage: Not known to us; probably 

 similar to that of Canada Goose. 



Marks for field identification — Similar to those for Canada Goose but 

 size considerably smaller (total length 23 to 25 inches [583 to 635 mm.]), and 

 coloration darker. In hand the tarsus is seen to be much longer than the middle 

 toe with claw, while the bill is less than 1.44 inches long (36.6 mm.) (figs. 

 32-37). The high-pitched call-note (whence the name Cackling Goose) is easily 

 distinguished from the notes of the Canada and Hutchins geese. 



Voice — An oft-repeated lulc-lulc (Belding, 1892o, p. 101). 



Nest — On grassy border of a pond; a slight depression, sparsely lined with 

 grass and down (Nelson, 1887, p. 86). 



Eggs — 4 to 9, ovate in shape, measuring in inches, .2.86 to 3.35 by 1.89 to 2.17 

 (in millimeters, 72.5 to 85.0 by 48.0 to 55.0), and averaging 2.99 by 2.01 (76.0 

 by 51.0) (twenty-nine eggs in U. S. National Museum) ; color buffy white. 



General distribution — Western North America. Breeds only in Alaska, on 

 Aleutian Islands and along coast of Bering Sea. Winters along Pacific coast 

 from British Columbia south to southern California (modified from A. O. U. 

 Check-list, 1910, p. 86). 



