A Canada goose gives the photographer a strange look, through one eye, at Thorpeness, Suffolk, UK.
Image details
Contributor:
TONY LOCKHART / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
B79R7NFile size:
48 MB (869 KB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3343 x 5015 px | 28.3 x 42.5 cm | 11.1 x 16.7 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
January 2009More information:
The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to North America. It is quite often called the Canadian Goose, but that name is not strictly correct, according to the American Ornithologists' Union. The Canada Goose was one of the many species described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae.[3] It belongs to the Branta genus of geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey species of the Anser genus. The specific epithet canadensis is a New Latin word meaning "of Canada". A recent proposed revision by Harold Hanson suggests splitting Canada Goose into six species and 200 subspecies. This radical nature of this proposal has provoked surprise in some quarters, from instance Rochard Banks of the AOU, who urges caution before any of Hanson's proposals are accepted. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first citation for the 'Canada Goose' dates back to 1772. The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish the Canada Goose from all, except the Barnacle Goose, but the latter has a black breast, and grey, rather than brownish, body plumage. There are seven subspecies of this bird, of varying sizes and plumage details, but all are recognizable as Canada Geese. Some of the smaller races can be hard to distinguish from the newly-separated Cackling Goose. This species is 76-110 cm (30-43 in) long with a 127-180 cm (50-71 in) wingspan. The male usually weighs 3.2–6.5 kg, (7–14 pounds), and can be very aggressive in defending territory. The female looks virtually identical but is slightly lighter at 2.5–5.5 kg (5.5–12 pounds), generally 10% smaller than its male counterpart, and has a different honk. An exceptionally large male of the race B. c. maxima, the "giant Canada goose" (which rarely exceed 8 kg/18 lb), weighed 10.9 kg (24 pounds) and had a wingspan of 2.24 m (88 inches).