Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) - BirdLife species factsheet

Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note

Branta canadensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously split as B. canadensis and B. hutchinsii following AOU (2004), and before then lumped as B. canadensis following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.

IUCN Red list criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2006	Least Concern
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Species attributes

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	Does not normally occur in forest
Land mass type		Average mass	-

Extent of occurrence (EOO)

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	8,450,000	medium
Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2)	25,700,000	medium
Number of locations		-
Fragmentation		-

Population and trend

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals		poor	estimated	2009
Population trend	Unknown		not applicable	-
Decline (3 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (5 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation future)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future)		-	-	-
Number of subpopulations		-	-	-
Largest subpopulations		-	-	-
Generation length (yrs)	10.9	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population has been estimated to number c.920,000-1,400,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2006), while the population in Russia is estimated at <c.100 breeding pairs and <c.50 individuals on migration (Brazil 2009).

Trend justification: The overall trend is uncertain, as some populations are decreasing, while others are stable or increasing (Wetlands International 2006). This species has undergone a large and statistically significant increase over the last 40 years in North America (1500% increase over 40 years, equating to a 101% increase per decade; data for Branta canadensis and B. hutchinsii combined, from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Occurrence status	Presence	Resident	Non-breeding	Passage
Canada	N	Extant	Yes
Japan	N	Extinct		Yes
Marshall Islands	V	Extant
Mexico	N	Extant		Yes
Russia	V	Extant		Yes	Yes
Russia (Asian)	V	Extant		Yes	Yes
South Korea	V	Extant		Yes
Taiwan, China	V	Extant		Yes
USA	N	Extant	Yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Tundra	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2021) Species factsheet: Branta hutchinsii. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 16/01/2021. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2021) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 16/01/2021.