[TN-Bird] More on "Canada" Geese
- From: Bill Pulliam <bb551@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Tennessee Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 17:27:04 -0600
Reading posts here and elsewhere, it seems to me there is some
confusion about the migratory geese in Tennessee and what the
"Lesser" Canada Goose really is. The basics, as I have understood them:
The year-round resident geese are a bit of a synthetic blend,
containing a lot of blood from the "Giant" Canada Goose, B. c.
maxima. They are generally large in size with long necks and long
legs. The somewhat smaller geese that are common in wintering flocks
are *not* "Lesser" Canada Geese. They are primarily smaller
individuals of the "Interior" Canada Goose, B. c. minima. These are
the ones that are moderately smaller and shorter-necked than the big
resident birds, and are very common. The real "Lesser" Canada Goose,
B. c. parvipes, is not a common bird here. They are notably smaller
and far closer in size to "Richardson's" Cackling Goose (B. h.
hutchinsii) than they are to the "Interior" geese. They are short-
necked, short-billed, short-legged as well as being distinctly small
even without a "normal" Canada Goose for comparison. They overlap
broadly with B. h. hutchinsii in all measurements and plumage
characters, including bill length and total body mass, as far as I
have been able to determine.
In eastern Colorado, where the relative abundances of these four
subspecies are more evenly spread, a flock of winter geese tends to
look like a complete multidimensional spectrum of sizes, shapes, and
colors. They don't sort out at all neatly into four "kinds."
Sorry to be a bit redundant here, but this is a confusing field issue
that still needs a lot of work to sort out.
Bill Pulliam
Hohenwald TN
=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================
The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with
first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds
you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society
Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
endorse the views or opinions expressed
by the members of this discussion group.
Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Andy Jones
Cleveland, OH
-------------------------------
Assistant Moderator Dave Worley
Rosedale, VA
__________________________________________________________
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARCHIVES
TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/
EXCELLENT MAP RESOURCES
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif
Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com
_____________________________________________________________
Other related posts:
