Facial Patterns of White-cheeked Geese

In the above illustration, the top row consists of pure Canada Geese and the bottom row of Barnacle x Cackling/Canada Goose hybrids.

Canada Geese seem to show a broader dark area in the lores on average. Those of hybrids tend to have a more pinched in appearance, often reminiscent of Barnacle Geese. Hybrids often have white encroaching closer to the eye. Additionally, more often than on Canadas the white forehead and cheek will meet above the eye on hybrids. It is important to note that this does sometimes appear in pure Canada and Cackling Geese. When white is more limited, hybrids usually show less of the "eyebrow" that Canadas do, and more of an indistinct trace of a white forehead (see #1 above for both), but this is not always the case. Overall, the facial pattern of these hybrids tends to be more suggestive of Barnacle Goose.

All of these features are an average, and do not hold true for every individual. As is the case with all hybrids, it is important to use multiple features to come to an identification. The facial pattern can help to establish a general impression of the bird you are looking at, and can be useful when other features are less apparent. It is important to keep in mind that bill size and head shape can alter the appearance of the facial pattern as well. There are outliers which aren't illustrated above. An example of a pure Canada Goose with particularly extensive white on the face is shown in ML313945341. This individual still seems to show more black around the eye than on many hybrids, but individuals like this can be confusing. Additionally some hybrids can show next to no white on the forehead: ML640520234. Beware also of aberrant Canada Geese whose facial patterns match none of the above examples: ML187352651. The extra white feathers on these birds tend to be paler and less cream-colored than the cheek patch. For more information on these taxa see the hybrid accounts linked at the beginning of this article.