Habitat
Breeds in coastal marshes, along tundra ponds and streams, and steep turf slopes above rocky shores.Back to top
Food
Entirely herbivorous. Eats variety of plant species and parts, especially grasses, sedges, grain, and berries.Back to top
Nesting
Nest Placement
Nest Description
Nest a large open cup, made of dry grasses, lichens, and mosses, lined with down and some body feathers. Usually placed on slightly elevated sites near water. Some cliff nesting.
Nesting Facts
| Clutch Size: | 2-8 eggs |
| Number of Broods: | 1 brood |
| Incubation Period: | 25-28 days |
| Egg Description: | Creamy white. |
| Condition at Hatching: | Covered with down and eyes open. Leaves nest within 24 hours of hatching with the ability to swim and feed. |
Behavior
Grazes on grass. Tips up to reach aquatic vegetation. Feeds in flocks in fields.Back to top
Conservation
There is little information on population numbers and trends of Cackling Goose. The population that nest on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska are estimated to number between 290,000-390,00 breeding individuals, and this population has been stable from 2006 to 2015. The Aleutian Cackling Goose was protected under the original Endangered Species Act in 1973, but was removed from the list in 2001. Other forms may be increasing, but still appear to be below long-term averages. The species rates an 11 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score. Cackling Goose is not on the 2016 State of North America's Birds' Watch List.Back to top
Credits
Banks, R. C., C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, A. W. Kratter, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen Jr., J. D. Rising and D. F. Stotz. (2004). Forty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 121 (3):985-995.
Lutmerding, J. A. and A. S. Love. (2019). Longevity records of North American birds. Version 1019 Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory 2019.
Mowbray, Thomas B., Craig R. Ely, James S. Sedinger and Robert E. Trost. (2002). Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2015). Waterfowl population status, 2015. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior.
