The Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), known in Swedish as "grönländsk kanadagås", was split as a separate species from the Canada Goose in 2004. It is considerably smaller than the Canada Goose — roughly 55–70 cm long compared to the Canada Goose's 90–110 cm — with a shorter, more slender neck, a rounder head and a smaller, stubbier bill, giving it a compact, dainty overall impression. The plumage follows the same basic pattern as its larger relative, with a black head and neck broken by a white cheek patch, but because of the size and proportion differences a Cackling Goose standing among Canada Geese can look strikingly small and short-necked.
The call is higher-pitched and lighter than the Canada Goose's deep, trumpeting honk, often described as a shriller, more cackling "kank-kank" — the source of its English name — and this vocal difference can help with identification within mixed goose flocks. The species breeds in Arctic Canada and southwestern Greenland and does not nest in Scandinavia; on its Arctic breeding grounds it nests on tundra near water, laying a clutch in a shallow, down-lined scrape like other geese. In Sweden and Norway it is a rare vagrant, noted mainly during the winter half-year with most records from southern Sweden, usually turning up as single birds among flocks of Greylag and Canada Geese. Like other geese it is herbivorous, feeding on grass, herbs and waste grain alongside its larger relatives on open fields and coastal meadows. The species is classified as Least Concern (LC).
Read about this species in Swedish →