CANADAGOOSE 81 



THE GEESE 



Subfamily Anserinae 



The Canada Goose 



The species Branta canadensis, the Canada Goose, is composed of 

 five varieties or subspecies, as follows: (1) Common Canada Goose, c. 

 canadensis; (2) Western Canada Goose, c. occidentalis; (3) Lesser 

 Canada Goose, c. leucopareia; (4) Richardson's Goose, c. hutchinsi; (5) 

 Cackling Goose, c. minima. 



All these geese are similarly marked, the outstanding features being 

 the long black neck or "stocking," and the white cheeks. The main 

 points of distinction between the varieties are differences of size and 

 shade of body colour. In this regard the subspecies stand as follows: 

 There are two large birds (9 pounds approx.), the Common Canada 

 Goose or Honker, light coloured, and the Western Canada Goose, dark 

 coloured. Then comes one medium sized bird (5 pounds approx.), the 

 Lesser Canada Goose, light coloured. And finally there are two very 

 small birds (81/9 pounds approx.), Richardson's Goose, light coloured, 

 and the Cackling Goose, dark coloured. Reference to Colour Plate No. 2 

 will make clear these differences of size and colour. 



The birds referred to in this work as (1) Richardson's Goose and 

 (2) Western Canada Goose, are listed in the 1931 Edition of the A.O.U. 

 Check List as "Hutchins's Goose," and "White-cheeked Goose," respec- 

 tively. This departure from the nomenclature of the A.O.U. is made for 

 the following reasons: 



(1) Richardson's Goose. For a great many years the name "Hutch- 

 ins's Goose," as a variety of this species, has been misapplied, and the 

 confusion was unfortunately added to by the changes made in the no- 

 menclature of the species in the 1931 Edition of the A.O.U. Check List. 

 The facts are as follows: 



In 1831 Sir John Richardson discovered in the Hudson Bay region 

 a very small goose, which he called Hutchins's Goose, hutchinsi, for Mr. 

 Hutchins of the Hudson Bay Company. In the course of years this 

 little goose was either forgotten or overlooked by naturalists, and in all 

 literature the name Hutchins's Goose has been erroneously applied to a 

 goose now known as the Lesser Canada Goose, a bird distinct from 

 the one originally named "Hutchins's" by Richardson, its discoverer. 



When, a relatively short time ago, this little Richardson's Goose was 

 rediscovered, the A.O.U., in the 1931 Check List, re-bestow r ed upon it its 

 original names, Hutchins's Goose, and hutchinsi. The bird which had 

 been known for so long as Hutchins's, and which for the moment had no 

 name, was called the Lesser Canada Goose, c. leucopareia. 



If the nomenclature in the 1931 Edition of the Check List is allowed 

 to stand, the present confusion will be perpetuated. And, it will always 

 be necessary to realize that the bird called Hutchins's Goose since 1931, 



