The four smallest subspecies of Canada Goose (Taverner's, Hutchin's/Richardson's, Cackling and Aleutian) were split off and renamed Cackling Goose. The seven larger subspecies remain Canada Goose. This was introduced/suggested by the Canada Goose write-up for the Birds of North America series a couple of years ago, and the AOU acted on it. The two races closest to the split (Taverner's and Lesser) both occur in WA and will likely create a challenge for species ID.

Randy Hill
Othello
----- Original Message -----
From: Timothy Ryan
To: Tweeters
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2004 1:45 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Canada/Cackling goose question


I read in the last "Birdwatcher's Digest" that Canada goose and cackling goose are now different species. What's the difference and how did they decide that anyway?

Tim Ryan
Dupont, WA
famryan2000 at yahoo.com


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