Canada Goose Branta canadensis
STANFORD LOCATIONS: Please let us know if you see Canada Geese on campus. To submit a sighting click on Stanford Locations.

Nest Location	Nest Type	Eggs Mating System	Dev. Parental Care	Primary & 2ndary Diet	Foraging Strategy
			F I: 25-30 DAYS PRECOCIAL 2
	F	4-7 (4-10) MONOG	F: 40-73 DAYS MF	INVERTS	DABBLES GROUND GLEAN

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BREEDING:	Freshwater and brackish marshes, meadows, small islands. 1 brood.
DISPLAYS:	Courting male holds head 1"off ground, bill open, tongue raised, hissing loudly, quills shaking, approaches female, and passes neck around hers.
NEST:	Usu near water, of dry grass, forbs, moss, sticks, aquatic veg, etc., feathers; down added as incubation begins. Occ of conifer needles, bark chips, lined with down. Occ use abandoned nest, esp if ground snow-covered; occ human-made structure.
EGGS:	White, nest-stained. 2.9-3.6" (74-90 mm).
DIET:	Shoots, roots, and seeds of grass and sedges, bulbs, grain, berries; also insects, crustaceans, mollusks. Mostly grain and foliage in winter.
CONSERVATION:	Winters s to n Mexico. Aleutian Canada Goose was removed from the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 2001. Most grain consumption is postharvest. Flocks often found in urban parks with lakes or rivers; semi-domesticated.
NOTES:	Long-term pair bond. Strong fidelity to nesting territory. Breeding usu in third year, occ in second year. Male usu leads young on water; if disturbed, young dive. Male performs distraction display. Sentinels constantly guard foraging flocks.
ESSAYS:	How Long Can Birds Live? Visual Displays; Flying in Vee Formation; Metallic Poisons; Birds and the Law; Site Tenacity.
REFERENCES:	Bellrose, 1976; Craven, 1984; Godfrey, 1986; Prevett et al., 1985.

Help	Abbreviations	Species-Alphabetical	Species-Taxonomic	Essays-Alphabetical	Essays-Categorized
Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988).