Hello Ontbirders. I am sure that many of the excellent Ontario observers are already aware of this but I wanted to share with everyone what I found out from a few folks that emailed me about the "smaller" Canada Geese in Ontario.
I can honestly say that I was UNAWARE that not all of the small geese are Cackling Geese. The bird I observed Sunday at Long Point was obviously NOT a Cackling Goose, BUT it was also obviously NOT a large Canada Goose. So what was it? Well, according to Alan Wormington the parvipes race of Canada Goose has never been reliably recorded in Ontario. The parvipes race is known as "Lesser" Canada Goose and is a smaller race of the large-bodied Canada Goose. There is however another subspecies NOT described in either the National Geographic Guide or Sibley Guide. How did this happen!!?!! This subspecies is the Hudson Bay Canada Goose, race interior and is likely what I saw. It breeds in James Bay/Hudson Bay Lowlands and migrates through here. This subspecies looks a lot like the parvipes race from what I can tell and the parvipes race seems to interbreed with several other smaller western races. However, from Sibley's notes the interior race still appears to be a large goose... just not as large as the residents here... so... I can't honestly say I know what subspecies I saw??? Sibley sums his article up with the following statement; "This is an irresistible challenge for some of us, but until we have a better sense of the variation and limits of these subspecies all identification should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism." Jeff Skevington showed me a site where Sibley has an excellent article at http://www.sibleyguides.com/canada_cackling.htm I hope this helps birders look more carefully at "smaller" geese in Ontario, and to take a look at potential "Cackling Geese" that may in fact be these other subspecies that aren't illustrated in field guides! Good Luck! Cheers, Andrew Keaveney _________________________________________________________________ Ready. Set. Get a great deal on Windows 7. See fantastic deals on Windows 7 now http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691818_______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
