# wierd goose!! what is this???



## greenhead61 (Feb 15, 2007)

My buddy shot this goose yesterday and we cant decide what it is. We think its a part albino canadian. But it sounded like a speck when it was honking. Never seen anything like it. Any ideas?? Been talking to some biologist and they dont have a clue.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

You shot the "Golden Goose"! That thing better be going on the wall!

As for what it is. I would guess a canada goose with leucism. It is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals and humans.
You luck SOB!!!!! I want one just like it!


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## greenhead61 (Feb 15, 2007)

Yeah been lookn around on the net and were pretty shur its a leucistic canada. It was with a whole flock of canadians. And its allready at the taxidermist.


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

As for what it is. You'll never know for a fact what it realy is.

It's cool thats what it is! Thats not a fact it's just my opinion.


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## Horker23 (Mar 2, 2006)

That a once in a lifetime thing! Cool looking bird!


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## Flight Cancelled (Oct 8, 2008)

looks like an albino speck or leucistic speck if there is such a thing? I base that off of the size of the bird and the head and beak look more like a speck also theres a faint white patch around the beak like on a speck...but man it sure is sweet whatever it is


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## calisnowhunter (Jun 7, 2006)

That is a albino speck seen one shot out here last year. Better put that thing on the wall not many of them around. sweet bird


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## waterfowl stocker (Sep 13, 2006)

Not albino, doesn't have a red eye, it is a leucistic speck


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## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

Maverick said:


> You shot the "Golden Goose"! That thing better be going on the wall!
> 
> As for what it is. I would guess a canada goose with leucism. It is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals and humans.
> You luck SOB!!!!! I want one just like it!


Now that's Funny! :rollin: I'd try to squeeze an egg out of the SOB


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## wtrfwl havoc (Dec 14, 2009)

hey thanks guys thanks for all the replies. my buddy posted this i had to join when i heard all the replies. i am the one that shot the goose. the bird honked like a speck on approach but through lots of arguement between the crew we decided it had way more canada features than speck and assumed a leucistic canada. after many hours of research and talking with biologists between both me and my buddy i figured i would throw this out there. i contacted the chief waterfowl biologist with ducks unlimited. he is very confident that this is a leucistic canada-specklebelly cross a rather rare bird. the bill, ruffled neck feathers, head structure honk, and white feathering behind the bill all resemble a speck. the white cheeck patch, darker brown neck, the brown rear with the white v on his tail, and the wing coverts are definately canada. so that is the answer from the specialists what do you think. he told me it is rare and that i would be lucky to see another bird like it much less shoot it. and yes it is definately at the taxidermist


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## Neck Collar (Sep 19, 2006)

That thing is awesome!

Id love to see one of those! :beer:


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

Truely a diamond in the ruff! Thanks for sharing your info on the bird as well!


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

greenhead61 said:


> Yeah been lookn around on the net and were pretty shur its a leucistic canada.


Bingo.

To me it looks like it is 100% canada goose...I don't see any speck in there.


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## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

There's no way i would have mounted that........especially after how beatin up it would have been after i made love to it all night long! definitely a sweet piece of ace you got there


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## jwdinius1 (Dec 14, 2006)

That thing is sweet!! whos cares if it is a "this" or "that" that thing is cool, great job!!
What a x-mas gift huh? :beer:


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## wtrfwl havoc (Dec 14, 2009)

ok guys so heres the million dollar question. im sure youve read the post about what the chief waterfowl biologist of ducks unlimited believes it to be leucistic canada-speck cross. i have this posted on a taxidermy forum and most seem to think canada/buff goose cross. in my eyes i would think that if it is crossed with a buff it should be much larger in size, rather than smaller in size and more clumsy looking like a buff goose. plus that doesn't explain the honking/laughing (a rather unmistakeable honk) like a speck. some biologist believe cross with domestic, some believe leucistic canada-speck cross. so back to the million dollar question. who to believe and is this a bird that should be at the taxidermist? what is your opinion?


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Try eating it and see if it tastes like Speck or Canada!

JK I would defiantly put it on the wall. DU biologists? That title has no cred IMO.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

> i have this posted on a taxidermy forum and most seem to think canada/buff goose cross.


I guess I could see it possibly being that! In reality, you'll never really know unless you do some DNA testing!

Like PJ said..put it on the wall!
:beer:


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## JAnglin (Aug 3, 2006)

I posted the following on Flocknockers and copied it here. 
I've been watching this goose for weeks and noted that it was spending a lot of time with two double banded(tarsal)and a few single banded birds. Everybody in the area has been watching this bird and it seems to turn up all over the place. It came in as I was trying to land a bird for for my son and I ended up killing two birds with that shot(for obvious reasons)as they lined up. No dice on the band(killed one last week and a collar today so I'm not too upset). It was one helluva flock...like a superstar flock.

I assume that this is nothing more than a domestic greylag/Canada hybrid but it sure is pretty. When it's standing both sides have this nice light gray cast to them and other than the darker gray feathers on the back it's mostly white and and the light gray. Interestingly the toes nails are pearl colored and the bill has a pearl orangish pink color. The eyes are blue and black but overall the bird seems leucistic. If it were for the ruffled neck feathers I'd call it a leucistic Canada. The primary wing tips are very worn. I seem to remember that the feathers that lack pigmentation wear easier because they have a weaker structure...am I dreaming that?

Check it out.....


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## JAnglin (Aug 3, 2006)

I have thought about this quite a bit. I have a bio degree and I've always been fascinated by hybrid waterfowl. I've seen quite a few of them and have one mounted. When it comes to geese there are some oddities out there _but_ the odds of a Canada Goose mating with a wild goose of any other species is much less than a one mating with a domestic variant or a "liberated" domestic. Any decent sized roost that holds Canadas in a urban setting will have domestic ducks and geese that will readily hybridize with the local population. Furthermore, in rural settings many farms have all kinds of geese and ducks wandering around the local pothole or behind the barn. This leads me to believe that these birds are almost always a variation of Canada/domestic cross.

If you look at my bird you notice the ruffled neck feathers. This is NOT a characteristic of Canadas. It is a characteristic of specks, snows and of course the Greylag and Bean Goose of Europe which have been domesticated. This means that it isn't a leucistic Canada, at least not a pure one. My bird was roughly the same size of a decent sized local...it was a good sized bird. It stands to reason that a Canada that hybridized with a smaller species would throw birds that were intermediate sized between the two species. Of course this isn't always the case but I think it's odd that whenever you see a one of these freaks that its a good sized bird. If a speck or a snow was in there wouldn't some of them be smaller. The bill on my bird looks just like a Canada. The body configuration, wing length, tarsus length, bill length...general build is that of a Canada. I guess the long and short of it is...as much as I'd like to think it's a cool rarity like a leucistic or a hybrid of different wild goose species, more than likely it's a domestic goose crossed with a Canada, by a large margin. Maybe a backcross and not the first breeding but nothing spectacular.


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## possumfoot (Nov 7, 2006)

Matt Jones said:


> greenhead61 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah been lookn around on the net and were pretty shur its a leucistic canada.
> ...


you have never killed a speck have ya..

cheek patch and wings are the only thing that even remotely say canada.. looks 90% speck.. if all specks were leucistic.

my guess would be a 100% speck.


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## JAnglin (Aug 3, 2006)

You've never seen a Greylag have you. Looks an awful lot like a speck.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

JAnglin

Thank you for posting your bird and the story that goes with it! It is truely a trophy! I do agreee with you about your bird being a domestic goose crossed with a Canada. Did you happen to put it one the wall?


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## wtrfwl havoc (Dec 14, 2009)

just wanted to update you guys on the first hybrid goose in this thread. in addition to the chief waterfowl biologist from ducks unlimited thoughts in the previous post. the photos have made it to some of the worlds most renowned goose biologists as i am told. due to the lack of size, the honk, no irregular body shape and many other features resembling speck. the quotes of some were as follows " i think a canada x whitefront the more likely choice (based on prevalance ) combination in the wild might be small canada (aka cackling goose) x whitefronted goose might explain the size," " the bird may have come out of the mid continent boreal or central arctic were the canada geese are more medium bodied birds and the cackling geese are somewhat larger than the more easter higher arctic birds. either could be the parent species and both overlap with whitefronts" some of the biologists that have seen it have given several possibilities. but all seem to lean towards medium or cackler x whitefront. so theres some more info. kind of neet people of this caliber are looking at it. im not sure if a guy will truly know 100%. but i doubt ill shoot another.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

Just did some searching and found this picture.....I wonder if it could have been your goose?


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I think that the geese in the last picture are showing off. :rollin:


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## wtrfwl havoc (Dec 14, 2009)

had the same photo emailed to me. wierd aye. wish i could see the other side. the cheek patch on mine is just a little larger on the other side. kind of cool though


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