Mates for Life
by Elizabeth Winter
Title
Mates for Life
Artist
Elizabeth Winter
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Lots of different ducks were swimming around, but these pair of Canada geese were definately in their own world.
Family importance. Canada geese are very family oriented. The family groups stay together until mating season. Large families have dominance over small families. Any size family is dominant over paired or unpaired birds that do not have families. The ranking of the gander within the larger flock is dependent on the size of his immediate family group. Canada geese mate for life. Canada geese are very vocal creatures and their language is not hard to pick up if you pay close attention. Mated pairs or family members who have been separated for even a short time greet each other with an elaborate greeting display. This display includes loud honking between the pair and head rolling or neck stretching by the male. During head rolling, the neck is extended and the head is rolled back and forth. The geese also raise their head and bodies and flap their wings. Leader groups of geese will chase and outcast an injured goose to protect the rest of the group from predators. The same will go for an unknown goose that arrives or is placed at a pond where it’s not a member of a group. That’s why it’s vital that Rehabbers return geese back to the pond it was found when injured.
The gander has a slower, low-pitched "ahonk" while the goose's voice is a much quicker and higher-pitched "hink" or “ka-ronk.” Mated pairs will greet each other by alternating their calls so rapidly that it seems like only one is talking. The typical "h-ronk" call is given only by males. Females give a higher-pitched and shorter "hrink" or "hrih". Pitch also changes depending on the position of the neck, and the duration of the call varies depending on context. Dominant individuals are about 60 times more vocal than submissive flock mates. Canada geese calls range from the deep ka-lunk of the medium and large races to the high-pitched cackling voices of smaller races. Researchers have determined that Canada Geese have about 13 different calls ranging from loud greeting and alarm calls to the low clucks and murmurs of feeding geese. A careful ear and loyal observer will be able to put each voice to the honking goose/geese.
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April 16th, 2014
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