Cackling Goose

The cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) is a species of goose found in North America. Like most geese, it is naturally migratory, the wintering range being most of the U.S., and locally in western Canada and northern Mexico. The calls overhead from large groups of cackling geese flying in V-shaped formation signal the transitions into spring and fall. In some areas, migration routes have changed due to changes in habitat and food sources. Cackling geese have occasionally reached western Europe naturally, as has been proved by ringing recoveries. Cackling geese are also found naturally on occasions in the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Siberia, eastern China, and throughout Japan. Despite this, the IUCN considers it extirpated from Japan.