I finally caught up with the Flushing Meadows Cackling Geese for better pictures. They do seem to be an interesting pair, worth the time photographing.
The new pictures of the larger one, of which I had only swimming away shots previously, reveal a couple of interesting features. There is a pronounced gular (chin) stripe. This feature is most prominently associated with the Aleutian subspecies. I'm not saying it's that. From what I gather from available literature, some features typically absent, can appear in a subspecies. Overall, I believe this individual's characteristics point to the Richardson's subspecies. Depending on the reference you look at it, a gular stripe can occur in up to 25% of Richardson's. This bird also has a curious white eye ring. I don't know what that's all about, but it does seem to be of use in picking out this individual from surrounding nearly similar sized canadensis geese. The smaller goose's most prominent feature is a pronounced white collar. Ironically, this too is most notably associated with the Aleutian subspecies. Again, I'm not saying it's that. A similar goose, seen earlier in the season by Derek Rogers, was mentioned as likely being of the Taverner's subspecies. Going through the literature, it would seem that a collar is not the norm in Taverner's, but it can occur. Taverner's is supposed to have a gular stripe. I can't see one on this individual, although I don't have the best angles. One of Derek's pictures clearly shows the lack of a gular stripe. But then there is uncertainty on the usefulness of this feature, anyway. Another problem is that Taverner's is the largest bodied of the Cackling Geese. This one is clearly smaller than the accompanying Cackler. Possibly, gender difference is involved here. It could be that we have a male Richardson's and a female Taverner's. I'll admit I'm no expert on this subject. Like many of you, I'm trying to figure this out now that we're aware of Cackling Geese and more of them are being identified in our area. Getting good pictures is a step in that direction for me. I think these two individuals are a good case study. Aside from plumage features, structure and posture need to be studied. I've posted a selection of pictures that show how appearance can vary on individual birds. These are at my web site http://stevewalternature.com/ on the recent work page (under the BIRDS tab). Speaking of Flushing Meadows, the land birds of interest continued through yesterday. Catching up with them was easier than it had been, probably dues to the combination of the cold limiting human disturbance and the snow limiting available feeding ground. If I kept such a list, then Clay-colored Sparrow, Lark sparrow, and Pine Warbler would be new for my list of species photographed with snow in the picture. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
