Hear a story about the Canada goose.
Hear a Canada goose.

adapted from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

Canada geese migrate throughout Texas but spend the winter mainly in the eastern half of the state and in the Panhandle. They are particularly abundant on the prairies along the coast. They fly in large V-formations across the sky, their wild music delighting everyone along their path. Flights of this most popular of geese provide one of the highlights of the Texas winter season.

The "Canadian honker" is the best known of the geese in North America. Actually, the species is composed of a dozen subspecies that breed in different portions of the continent, from the northern coast of Alaska and the Arctic islands of Canada down through the upper portions of the United States. They range in size from the giant Canada goose that is nearly four feet long and may weigh 18 pounds or more to the tiny "cackling goose." The latter is just two feet long and weighs about three pounds; it is a little bigger than a mallard.

Fortunately for birders, all of the forms look much the same. The gray-brown birds are lighter beneath and have the characteristic black head and neck marked with a distinctive white "chin strap" stretching up onto the sides of the head. In flight, the Canada goose has dark wings, white undertail coverts and a white crescent on the rump. They roost on marshes, playa lakes and coastal wetlands and forage on plants, seeds and grains from nearby agricultural fields.

The Canada goose is a member of the Anatidae family, which includes ducks, geese and swans. Some 145 species of Anatidae occur around the world, nearly half of them in North America. The Texas list contains 42, but nine of those species appear only as accidental visitors. Canada geese are game birds and are widely hunted in Texas.

More Facts... Canada geese form lasting pair bonds and return to the same nest site year after year. Their nests are large, bulky piles of dried grasses, moss, sticks and feathers lined with down. The female lays 4 to 7 white eggs, which hatch in 25 to 30 days. The young can fly after about two months and may remain with the parents through the winter. The large Canada goose has a musical honking call: ka-ronk, ka-ronk, ka-ronk. Smaller forms have a rapid, high-pitched cackle.

More Links USGS website Helpful tips on Identifying Waterfowl in the Central Flyway from The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Click here for info on the Canada goose. Visit our Bird of the Month website on the snow goose.