You're on to something which I have studied for my entire life. If you continue watching them intensively, you'll find that there are actual words for things. In this video, one of the words is quite clear. When a canada goose flips its head in the air pointing its bill skyward, either once, or repeatedly, that is the word for "fly." Other sounds used along with the head pointing modify the meaning. The modifiers are very subtle, and you'll have to listen very closely to pick them up, and sometimes our ears just aren't good enough to pick them up. There are also very subtle changes of pitch which also have meaning. I have an advantage over most observers in that I have perfect pitch, and hearing the difference is easy for me. Not all of canada goose vocalization are loud honks. The goose and the gander will often carry on long conversations using sounds which sound a bit like growls and purrs. You can hear these really well in a KZread video in which a Moffit's canada oose and gander are discussing whether or not an osprey nesting platform will be a good place to make a nest. At the end of the video they decide that it is, and they start barking at the other canadas in the area to claim the territory. There is also some interesting body language going on between the pair, especially near the beginning of the video. See if you can spot any of it, and mention it here. You can see the video here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/apxn1qhsg6TRYNY.html Canada geese have a very definite language, and when you get into it, it is surprisingly complex and expressive. They talk about and understand things which have nothing to do with with sex, territory, and raising the kids. When they are migrating, there is an organization to the "V" which goes beyond simply flying until your tired and then dropping back in the "V". Unless the have been spooked off the water, they choose ahead of time a flight director who determines when it is time to change who is at the front of the "V". After that, they all agree about taking off, signalled by one bird doing a head flip with the bill pointing skyward, which then propagates throughout the flock. Birds which are staying behind will not engage in this head flipping. If there is a breeze, the hole flock of leaving birds will turn into the wind, and the bird which they have agreed upon as being the first lead bird will take flight, immediately followed by the rest of the leaving birds. In the air, when the flight director decides it's time to change lead birds, he will make a loud honk, followed by "clapping" his wings above him once and below him once. This will be acknowledged throughout the "V" with everyone else doing the same thing, either with or without a honk, but usually with. This is then followed by an acrobatic manoeuvre on the part of the lead bird which most people never notice, even though it's quite extreme. The bird will roll over on its back (twisting its head to keep it oriented in the same way) in order to dump speed and altitude. It does this only for an instant and then rolls back to normal. It does this to avoid running into the other birds as it takes its new place at the back of the "V". You will notice that over time, one leg of the "V" will get longer than the other. The air is "dirtier" at the back of the longer leg, and that's the optimal flying position. Eventually, once one leg is down to one or two birds, the flight director will signal to the flock that they need to start making the legs more even by doing an upward wing clap and honk, followed by him flying over to the short leg. He will then be followed by the last few birds in the long leg, evening up the legs again. The flight director doesn't shirk his responsibilities just because he's calling the shots. He will take his turn at the front of the "V" like everyone else. Canada geese are very smart, and are self aware. They have what I consider to be a real language, with which they can describe a lot of things. The language differs depending on which flyway they are on (Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountain, and West Coast). Birds which have been hatched out in captivity by various game commissions in the various states do not learn the language and communicate in a much more rudimentary way. This is one of the reasons why the introduced populations don't migrate. They don't have the language tools to do so unless they are able to observe it in wild geese while they are still very young goslings. Communication between the goose and the goslings begins while the goslings are still in their eggs, and they begin to respond to the goose up to five days before hatch day. Thought the babies are talking "baby talk" which consists entirely of their endearing little peeps, and though this doesn't have much meaning beyond communicating the presence and reassuring each other, they are soaking up everything they hear their parents saying, and when their voice finally does come in, they know exactly what the words are, and are fluent as soon as they can use their adult voices. I hope this has been educational and that at least some people will have found this interesting. I'm only scratching the surface of what I've learned about these amazing birds over the years, and the extent of their conversations. There are some things which I will never talk about because it would be misused by hunters, and would cause a mass slaughter of the older birds who hold most of the wisdom, which would in turn lead to the destruction of migratory flocks. Beyond that, there are many more things which I can say about Goose words and their meanings which some would find interesting, but I've already written a long reply here, and I doubt that anyone on KZread came here to read a dissertation length reply. Enjoy nature, and big thanks to NatureMenor for posting this video, and showing people that these birds really are something special, communicating on a more complex level than most people are aware of.

@NatureMentor

Жыл бұрын

Very cool observations, I will definitely watch for all of this. Thanks for taking the time to share!

@evanmaldonado9799

4 ай бұрын

You sure have been doing your studying, geese are more intelligent than most people think. In the times of Ancient Rome, geese were kept as guard animals by priests in the Capitoline Hill, when the invading Gauls came, the geese alerted them with their loud honking, they ended up saving the city of Rome! I have observed Canada geese from up close and far away and I have noticed that the ganders are the noisiest of course, when a gander is with a female, he will communicate by extending his neck and honking loudly, they will also do a long honk too, I find it kinda funny and cute. They are so inquisitive once you get to know them!

@marinecorp179

Ай бұрын

The more I learn about birds in general, the more I realize humans are the dumbest species on this planet. Top of the food chain, but intellect were at the very bottom.

Thank you for translating goose language into human language for us, and the languages of so many other animals in the wild! 💜

@NatureMentor

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for tuning in!

@hppybnstr537

Жыл бұрын

@@NatureMentor I always enjoy your videos and always learn things!

The recording contrasting male and female calls was of great help to us for identifying (we believe) the sex of an adult goose with angel wing condition. Thank you!

Of interest to birders, My neighbor has a swimming pool covered for the winter, but the cover has a foot of dirty water and leaves over it right now. There is a pair of Mallard ducks that have visited his unopened pool every spring for a week or so for about 18 years now. The female has a distinctive dark saddle shape stain on the top of her beak, and the male has a very black tip on the end of his yellow beak so we know it is them and only them. They go by the name Sammy and Sussie. They do not nest near by, they just visit for a week or two then move on. I have good photos of them going back to 2011 proving that it has always been the same pair. So, their marriage has lasted a proven 18 years. Better than most people. They have also managed to survive the duck hunting seasons that long.

@hppybnstr537

Жыл бұрын

That is so cool! And I'm delighted that they have survived together this long! Thanks for sharing!

Honk! Im a goose! 🪿

Thank you! I was at the park today and I saw courtship and aggression between a bunch of geese. So far your video gave me the most explanation and knowledge!

@NatureMentor

Жыл бұрын

That's so great to know this was helpful! Thanks for watching!

Really great video, can’t wait to check out the geese next time I’m out!

@NatureMentor

Ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Another interesting video! Thank you.

@NatureMentor

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

A lot of my Canada goose observations are on grazing herds, and while I haven't exactly drcyohered their true meaning, I will still share them. Typically, there will be one or two designated sentinels who are on alert while the herd grazes at any one time. I'm not slcertain of the sex, but the sentinel usually appears tall, and so I would assume it's a male. Occasionally, two geese will get into a spat and briefly chase the other on foot. This is a quiet act with their necks outstretched and low. After the encounter, both geese waggle their tails and resume grazing. In the rain, the geese will stretched out and flap their wings once or twice, then waggle their tails, which almost all of the geese eventually do. I think they're shaking off water, given how I could not see any distinct cue for this gesture otherwise. If a dog approaches, one goose will make a quiet honk and all geese erect their necks and begin walking away from the dog. They do not resume grazing until the dog has passed a certain visual threshold. When a goose strays from the herd, a couple may follow to watch over the stray until they return. I guessed that the stray was a freshly fledged goose, but I could not tell. It was an adult by plumed and short, so a female. After a long period of grazing, up to half the herd takes a break to sleep. Sometimes with is done while sitting, and sometimes they will lift up a leg to do so. All sleeping geese twist their necks back and rest their head upon their backside. Another gesture I haven't deciphered is one where a goose will lift up their right leg, and then extend their right wing down. A local herd accepted a gray goose into their flock and one seemed to have paired with her. Their hybrid swims along with them. She's a local celebrity among anyone who cares to notice. Though, the last time I saw her, she was all alone, which is unusual. Perhaps it was a temporary arrangement. When a grazing herd was threatened by a person who intentionally walked straight through their group, a goose was dispatched to escort the person away from the herd. He made no sound, but kept pace. Once he had escorted the person far enough away, he flew back and resumed eating with a quiet honk. This encounter baffles me to this day. Some people are just assholes. With more attention, I will learn more. Unfortunately, grazing geese aren't the most emotive.

@NatureMentor

8 ай бұрын

These are awesome observations. Thanks for sharing and I agree that more attention will bring many more lessons. Keep going!

Do you have a good source for info on them? I have 3 families in my backyard and by my best guess their nests should hatch in the next 10 days or so. One of the dads gave me a good honking the first day, but now they let me come and go right by the nests. I verbally let them know I'm just passing by and I never approach the moms. Also, I have no intention of feeding them. I just wanna know more about them and the internet seems to be full of people's experiences and not so much quality info like yours (not to be hater, just that's not what I'm looking for).

@NatureMentor

Жыл бұрын

I highly recommend the Stokes Guides to Bird Behavior. Volume 1 has a chapter on Canada Geese and has great descriptions of their behaviors throughout the breeding season. I also do a lot of research on scholar.google.com which is admittedly very academic and hard to understand sometimes, but I find a lot of gems searching through there. The female incubates for 4 weeks, which is quite long for birds. If you know when they built the nest, that should give you a good sense of what to expect for timing. 3 nests so close to home is amazing! Enjoy the show!

@ld_raine4247

Жыл бұрын

@@NatureMentor Thank you! That is exactly the kind of resources I'm looking for. My daughter and I found them originally around April 1st and they were already on eggs at that point. I'm thinking sometime this week or so there'll be babies

Is it true that if one of the geese dies the other one will start replicating the others song?

I despise these things. Thanks for teaching the language of the enemy lol

@NatureMentor

17 күн бұрын

Glad I could help 😆

Melanoleucocephalus is a genus of goose that is native primarily to North America with smaller native populations in the Old World, members of this genus are commonly known as black-and-white-headed geese, referring to their largely black heads with a large white spot on their cheeks, the two extant species of this genus are the Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis) and the Cackling Goose (Melanoleucocephalus hutchinsii), the former has seven valid subspecies: the Dusky Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis occidentalis), the Vancouver Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis fulvus), the Lesser Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis parvipes), the Moffitt's Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis moffitti), the Interior Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis interior), the Giant Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis maximus), and the Atlantic Canada Goose (Melanoleucocephalus canadensis canadensis), while the latter has five valid subspecies: the †Bering Cackling Goose (Melanoleucocephalus hutchinsii asiaticus), the Dwarf Cackling Goose (Melanoleucocephalus hutchinsii minimus), the Aleutian Cackling Goose (Melanoleucocephalus hutchinsii leucopareius), the Taverner's Cackling Goose (Melanoleucocephalus hutchinsii taverneri), and the Richardson's Cackling Goose (Melanoleucocephalus hutchinsii hutchinsii).

Good for hunting !

@TrueSeed-ft1jn

2 ай бұрын

If you love the taste of pond scum.