Vancouver Canada goose

The Vancouver Canada goose (Branta canadensis fulva) is a subspecies of Canada goose, residing in western British Columbia and southern Alaska.

Vancouver Canada goose

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Branta
Species:
B. canadensis
Subspecies:
B. c. fulva
Trinomial name
Branta canadensis fulva
(Delacour, 1951)

Description

The Vancouver Canada goose is characterized as having a dark warm brown chest and body. It closely resembles the smaller Dusky Canada Goose (B. c. occidentalis) and is sometimes lumped as one subspecies, but averages larger with a slightly paler body and longer bill. It is also distinguished geographically and by mitochondrial DNA. [1] Its weight ranges from 2.7 to 5.9 kg (6 to 13 lbs).

Distribution

The native range of the Vancouver Canada goose is southern Alaska from Glacier Bay down to western British Columbia, where 90% of this subspecies remains year-round. Despite its name, this subspecies does not regularly occur in the city of Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, where it is replaced by the introduced resident Moffitt's Canada Geese (B. c. moffitti). Historically, it may have nested in the Fraser River. [2]

Breeding

The breeding biology of this species is poorly known, but unique among Canada Geese is that they use trees as perching and nesting sites during breeding season. It nests in dense temperate rainforests, up to 9m off the ground in tree snags.

References
  1. Reeber, Sébastien (2015). Waterfowl of North America, Europe, and Asia : an identification guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691162669.
  2. Dawe, Neil K; Stewart, Andrew C (2010). "The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia" (PDF). British Columbia Birds. 20. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
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