Canada Goose: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Daniel LaFrance · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Branta canadensis
- Family
- Ducks, Geese, and Swans
- Size
- About 100 cm
- Habitat
- Lakes, parks and grassland
- Found in
- Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania
The key marks
Very large brown goose with a long black neck and a white chin strap. Barnacle Goose is small, with a white face and a black breast; Brant is small and dark with only a little white on the neck.
Voice
Deep, trumpeting 'ah-honk'.
Good to know
Introduced from North America, it now breeds in large numbers in parks and wetlands across north-west Europe.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Barnacle Goose. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in lakes, parks and grassland. It is especially common in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.