Nate--
        Thanks for your intense and careful interest in white-cheeked geese, 
and for reporting what you are seeing. Too many of us ignore them too 
often, and they are a fascinating group.
        I can add a few informative web sites to those you offer:
http://www.idahobirds.net/identification/cackling.html
http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/cacklinggoose.php
http://www.utahbirds.org/RecCom/NewGoose.htm
http://www.texasbirds.org/tbrc/Canadagooset.html
http://www.azfo.org/gallery/challenges/WhiteCheekedGeese.html
Most of these come from out west, where many of the subspecies are seen 
a lot more often than here. There have been some possible parvipes 
claimed for Ohio, even some taverneri, but no deliberative body like the 
Ohio Bird Records Committee has looked at them.
        Please send me a copy of the Wilson Bulletin article on Hanson's latest 
book; I am not surprised that the reviewer had some taxonomic problems; 
I believe the article is by the Smithsonian's Richard C. Banks, perhaps 
North America's most revered taxonomist.
        I have a copy of Hanson's "The Giant Canada Goose" revised edition of 
1997 and have read it. It is a defense of the natural origin of what he 
calls Branta maxima, the resident semi-domesticated non-migratory goose 
so many love to hate. Hanson spent decades studying geese, and has 
forgotten more than most ornithologists know about them; the work 
clearly shows he has spent his time in the field with geese. However, in 
my opinion he over-interprets the small proportion of evidence that 
points to their existence long ago--much like the advocates for 
trumpeter swans in east do. He further claims on the first page of the 
preface that he will recognize "at least 186 geographic races 
(subspecies) of these geese in a yet-to-be-published work," which kinda 
makes you wonder. I haven't read his subsequent work, but I hear he 
makes some even more extravagant claims in revising the taxonomy of 
white-cheeked geese. I have the feeling that few would recommend that 
goose enthusiasts should not read his work, but that many have serious 
misgivings about it.
Bill Whan
Columbus

Nathaniel Nye wrote:
> Good morning and happy holidays!
> 
> Today is my first day off, so I've had some mid-morning hours to watch the
> lake.  This morning I spotted an obviously diminutive white-cheeked goose
> among the other large Canada's.  Having so many geese visible from my house
> for these past years has enabled me to really study the different subspecies
> of white-cheeked geese.  It is SO interesting.  Some of the best online
> sources I've found on the topic include
> http://www.oceanwanderers.com/CAGO.Subspecies.html and
> http://www.sibleyguides.com/2007/07/identification-of-cackling-and-canada-goose/
> .
> However, the whole issue of white-cheeked geese may be more complex than
> these two sites describe...a recent book by Harold Hanson (2007...see
> below) apparently makes a case for 6 species and hundreds of subspecies of
> white-cheeked geese.
> 
> So, there is one goose out there on my lake that I'm calling a
> "Richardson's" Cackling Goose with 95% confidence.  It is barely larger than
> a Mallard, has a blocky head with a steep forehead and an angle between bill
> and forehead, very short neck, and pale breast.  However there is another
> very small goose out on the water that is occasionally associating itself
> with the Richardson's, but mostly hanging out with the Canada's. It is
> slightly larger than the other Richardson's, but the head shape appears
> pretty similar, which leads me to believe that this is probably just another
> Richardson's Cackling Goose (there is some size variation within this
> subspecies).  Also, "parvipes" Canada Goose would be much rarer in Ohio than
> a Richardson's, and a "Taverner's" Cackling Goose, which would also have an
> angle between bill and forehead, would be rarer still if not unheard of
> (actually, I believe there are no records of either parvipes or taverneri in
> Ohio).
> 
> Also on the lake:
> NORTHERN PINTAIL (2, male and female...a new yard bird!)
> Hooded Merganser (1, female)
> American Black Duck (1)
> Canada Goose (approx. 150, mostly maxima)
> Mallard (100-150, one that appears to be hybridized with a Black Duck, and
> another ?partial albino?)
> 
> There is an article in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology by Robert Payne in
> Sept 2009 (vol 121, issue 3...I can email you a PDF of the article if you
> want) that reviews the book by Harold Hanson, mentioning "taxonomic problems
> with this book".   Has anyone heard of this book by Hanson?  Is there a
> better source on white-cheeked geese?  I have pasted in some information on
> this Hanson book below.
> 
> Good birding!
> 
> Nate Nye
> Hilliard, OH
> 
> THE WHITE-CHEEKED GEESE: BRANTA
> 
> CANADENSIS, B. MAXIMA, B. ‘‘LAWRENSIS’’,
> 
> B. HUTCHINSII, B. LEUCOPAREIA, AND B.
> 
> MINIMA. TAXONOMY, ECOPHYSIOGRAPHIC
> 
> RELATIONSHIPS, BIOGEOGRAPHY, AND
> 
> EVOLUTIONARY CONSIDERATIONS. VOLUME
> 
> 2. WESTERN TAXA, BIOGEOGRAPHY,
> 
> AND EVOLUTIONARY CONSIDERATIONS.
> 
> By Harold C. Hanson. Avvar Books, 203 South
> 
> Palm Drive, Blythe, California, USA. 2007: xxii +
> 
> 700 pages, hundreds of maps, tables, morphometric
> 
> diagrams, black and white photos of geese in the
> 
> wild, goose skins, and habitat. ISBN: 0-9708504-2-
> 
> 5.

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