|
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis'') is a large wild goose species with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brown body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, its migration occasionally reaches northern Europe. It has been introduced to Britain, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; it tends to be found on or close to fresh water. Extremely successful at living in human-altered areas, Canada geese have proven able to establish breeding colonies in urban and cultivated areas, which provide food and few natural predators, and are well known as a common park species. Their success has led to them sometimes being considered a pest species because of their depredation of crops and issues with their noise, droppings, aggressive territorial behavior, and habit of begging for food, especially in their introduced range. Canada geese are also among the most commonly hunted waterfowl in North America. ==Taxonomy and etymology== The Canada goose was one of the many species described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work ''Systema Naturae''. It belongs to the ''Branta'' genus of geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey species of the ''Anser'' genus. The specific epithet ''canadensis'' is a New Latin word meaning "from Canada". According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the first citation for the 'Canada goose' dates back to 1772. The Canada goose is also colloquially referred to as the "Canadian goose". The cackling goose was originally considered to be the same species or a subspecies of the Canada goose, but in July 2004 the American Ornithologists' Union's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature split the two into two species, making cackling goose into a full species with the scientific name ''Branta hutchinsii''. The British Ornithologists' Union followed suit in June 2005.〔(【引用サイトリンク】first=Mark )〕 The AOU has divided the many subspecies between the two species. The subspecies of the Canada goose were listed as: * Atlantic Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis canadensis'' * Interior Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis interior'' * Giant Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis maxima'' * Moffitt's Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis moffitti'' * Vancouver Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis fulva'' * Dusky Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis occidentalis'' * Lesser Canada goose, ''Branta canadensis parvipes'' The distinctions between the two geese have led to confusion and debate among ornithologists. This has been aggravated by the overlap between the small types of Canada goose and larger types of cackling goose. The old "lesser Canada goose" was believed to be a partly hybrid population, with the birds named ''taverneri'' considered a mixture of ''minima'', ''occidentalis'' and ''parvipes''. In addition, it has been determined that the barnacle goose is a derivative of the cackling goose lineage, whereas the Hawaiian goose is derived from the Canada goose. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canada goose」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|