Aleutian Canada goose

noun

variants or Aleutian cackling goose

: a variety (Branta canadensis leucopareia) of the Canada goose that primarily breeds in the Aleutian islands and winters in the Central Valley of California and is distinguished from the typical form by its smaller size and by a white neck ring at the base of its black neck

The Aleutian Canada goose, near extinction 30 years ago, is doing well enough to be taken off the endangered species list, federal officials announced this week.

—Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2001

… witness the great spectacle of 40,000 Aleutian cackling geese rising from their roost at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

—John Driscoll, Eureka (California) Times-Standard, 7 Mar. 2010

Note: The Aleutian Canada goose is now often classified as a variety (Branta hutchinsii leucopareia) of the cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii).

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

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