Cackling goose Cackling goose The cackling goose ("Branta hutchinsii") is a North American bird of the genus "Branta" of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey "Anser" species. The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish this goose from all other geese except the larger Canada goose ("Branta canadensis") and the similarly sized barnacle goose ("B. leucopsis"). There are up to 5 subspecies of cackling goose, of varying sizes and plumage details. The female looks virtually identical but is slightly lighter and has a different voice. Some are hard to distinguish from the Canada
Cackling goose populations may still be declining, especially of the subspecies "minima" and "leucopareia". Though the taxonomic distinctness of the Komandorski and Kuril Islands populations, which used to winter in Japan, is controversial, it is without doubt that they disappeared around 1929. 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 to be the same species or a subspecies of the Canada goose, but in July 2004 the American Ornithologists' Union's (AOU)