Cackling Goose

About the Cackling Goose

The cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) is a species of goose found in North America and East Asia. The genus name Branta is a Latinised form of Old Norse Brandgás, "burnt (black) goose", and the specific epithet hutchinsii commemorates English surgeon Thomas Hutchins who was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company.

The cackling goose was originally considered the same species or a subspecies of the Canada goose, but in July 2004 the American Ornithologists' Union's (AOU) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature split the two into two species, making cackling goose into a full species with the scientific name Branta hutchinsii. The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) followed suit in June 2005.

The AOU has divided the many associated subspecies between both animals. To the present species were assigned: Richardson's cackling goose (B. h. hutchinsii) Aleutian cackling goose (B. h. leucopareia) Small cackling goose (B. h. minima)

Taverner's cackling goose (B. h. taverneri) †Bering cackling goose (B. h. asiatica)—doubtfully distinct from B. h. leucopareia; extinct (c.1929) The distinctions between the two geese have led to a great deal of confusion and debate among ornithologists... Wikipedia →