Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii Scientific name definitions

“The flocks come cleaving their way from afar, and as they draw near their summer homes, raise a chorus of loud notes in a high-pitched tone like the syllable “luk,” rapidly repeated, and a reply rises upon all sides, until the whole marsh reechoes with the din, and the newcomers circle slowly up to the edge of a pond amid a perfect chorus raided by the geese all about as in congratulations.” E. W. Nelson (1887) on the arrival of the Cackling Goose to its breeding grounds in Alaska (1 Nelson, E. W. (1887). Birds of Alaska with a partial bibliography of Alaska ornithology. In Report upon Natural History Collections Made in Alaska Between the Years 1877 and 1881 (H. W. Henshaw, Editor). Signal Service, U.S. Army, Arctic Series Publication 3. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA. pp. 19–226. Close ).

The diminutive and highly gregarious Cackling Goose was relatively obscure until 2004, when it was acknowledged as a distinct species from its well-known relative, the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) , based largely on genetic differences. Like the Canada Goose, the Cackling Goose is a mostly brown goose with a sharply contrasting black neck and head and bright white cheeks. It is, however, smaller bodied and shorter billed than the Canada Goose, and it has a higher-pitched call that would be better described as a yelp than a cackle. The Cackling Goose breeds largely north of the Canada Goose in the arctic tundra from the Aleutian Islands to western Greenland, favoring small islands in tundra lakes and ponds, and the margins of lakes, ponds, and tidal sloughs in river deltas. A narrow hybrid zone between Cackling Goose and Canada Goose exists between 59°N and 60°N latitude where there is a transition from Arctic to Subarctic ecozones, and hybridization may also occur on Alaska's North Slope where the two species are likely sympatric.

The Cackling Goose is polytypic, consisting of four subspecies that differ in body size, bill size and shape, body color, and head pattern. The nominate subspecies, commonly referred to as Richardson's Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii), breeds on the Canadian arctic plain from southern Baffin Island and northwestern Quebec west to the western Northwest Territories and perhaps beyond and has bred, at least occasionally, in western Greenland; its core wintering range extends from northern Texas and Oklahoma north to southwestern Nebraska and northeastern Colorado. Taverner's Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) breeds on Alaska's arctic plain from the Seward Peninsula through Alaska's North Slope and east into the Yukon. Notably, its main wintering range is split, with birds breeding in western Alaska wintering predominantly in western Washington and Oregon and birds breeding in northern Alaska and the Yukon wintering east of the Rocky Mountains, likely with flocks of Richardson's Cackling Goose. The smallest subspecies, the minima Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii minima), breeds only range in western Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and the main wintering grounds are currently in northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington. The fourth subspecies, the Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia), breeds in the central and western Aleutian Islands and the Semidi Islands and winters predominantly in California's Central Valley, with smaller numbers along the northern California coast.

Breeding ranges of each subspecies have remained relatively constant over time, but winter and migration staging sites (particularly in the spring) have shifted northward from locations described in historical accounts. These changes seem primarily due to climate change and changes in land use. The Cackling Goose's southbound migration is relatively rapid, characterized by a small number of abbreviated stopovers, with geese from the western Aleutian Islands making an impressive annual nonstop flight of approximately 4,600 km over the Pacific Ocean to Humboldt Bay. Northbound migration is more leisurely, occurring somewhat as weather permits, with longer stays at staging areas, and typically at the same locations from from year to year.

One of the most remarkable conservation stories in North America is that of the Aleutian Cackling Goose, the population of which was only 790 birds in 1967, but rose above 210,000 following restrictions on hunting and removal of introduced foxes from nesting islands (2 Mini, A., D. C. Bachman, J. Cocke, K. M. Griggs, K. Spragens, and J. M. Black (2011). Recovery of the Aleutian Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii leucopareia: 10-year review and future prospects. Wildfowl 61:3-29. Close , 3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2023). Waterfowl population status, 2023. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). Conservation measures such as changes in land use and hunting pressure also dramatically helped the minima Cackling Goose, which recovered from a nadir of approximately 20,000 birds in 1984 to 238,000 in 2022 before apparently dropping precipitously to 161,000 in 2023 (4 Mlodinow, S. G., P. F. Springer, B. Deuel, L. S. Semo, T. Leukering, T. D. Schonewald, W. Tweit, and J. H. Barry (2008). Distribution and identification of Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) subspecies. North American Birds 62:344-360. Close , 3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2023). Waterfowl population status, 2023. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). Populations of Richardson's Cackling Goose and Taverner's Cackling have been relatively stable over the last 20 years, with estimated numbers of 2,499,000 and 59,000, respectively (5 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2019). Waterfowl population status, 2019. U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). Hopefully, future conservation efforts will allow us to enjoy this boisterous and charming goose for generations to come.