Hi All,

Richardson's Cackling Goose is regular in winter in Kent County, I have seen
up to four in a day here. The shape differences in the head, bill and neck
between Richardson's and Canada geese are quite comparable to those used to
identify Ross's Goose from Lesser Snow Goose although, as Paul O'Brien
noted, Richardson's do not look as round-headed as Ross's.  Another useful
feature of Richardson's Goose is it's long wings. As befits a long-distance
migrant from the High Arctic, Cackling Geese have longer wings and thus
longer primary extensions when seen swimming or grazing than Canada Geese.

I have seen a few birds in Kent County I would characterize as Lesser
Canada-like (i.e. "parvipes"). They were almost as small as Richardson's
Cackling Geese and about as pale with a distinctive pale-fringed look - the
back looked pale grey with narrow whitish fringes (unlike Richardson's which
is uniformly light gray brown on the mantle). However those birds had a
proportionally longer, more slender neck and longer less deep bills than
Cackling Geese - they simply looked like small versions of the bigger
subspecies of Canada Goose.

I suspect when people start looking carefully for Richardson's Geese
(keeping wary of Lesser Canadas) they will find them wherever large numbers
of Canada Geese gather. Another habit of Richardson's Geese is to hang out
in Snow Goose flocks (after all they both come from the Arctic) if you see a
"Canada" Goose in a Snow Goose flock it's worth a second look.

Good Birding,

Walter Ellison

23460 Clarissa Road
Chestertown, MD 21620
phone: 410-778-9568
e-mail: 

"A person who is looking for something doesn't travel very fast" - E. B.
White (in "Stuart Little")