Following an introduction to wild geese in the previous issue, we’ll look at a few of the many varieties. Like most birds, females usually have subdued colors, and where coloring is described, it refers to the male goose.
Living in both Canada and the United States, the Canada goose has a dark beak, head and neck, with a white band under its throat. In this case, both the male and female have the same coloring. This goose is one of the smallest varieties but great in numbers -more than three million.
Another one with great numbers is the snow goose, making its home mainly in Alberta, Canada. It is well-named because of its pure-white feathers all over, except for a little of the wing tips. It is an impressive sight to see a white blanket of thousands landing on shores or water.
The large blue goose (related to the snow goose) is also very numerous. Most spend the summer months in northern Canada and migrate to Louisiana and Texas for the winter months.
The red-breasted is one of the world’s beautiful birds - vivid in its brilliant red breast, with a black and white head and a patch of red in the white part. Its body is speckled dark gray, with a few patches of white.
The emperor is also impressive, with its red beak contrasting with a pure white head and back of its neck. The upper part of its body is blue-gray with brown markings, and the rest a mixture of brown and white. Its legs and feet are pink.
The spur-winged goose perhaps looks less like an ordinary goose than any of them. Its brilliant red beak runs up to its forehead. The lower part of its face and throat is white, with a black mantle of feathers over the top, circling around to its breast. The rest of its body is mostly blue-green, but its wings and stomach are white, with red legs matching its prominent beak.
The brant of Greenland is a saltwater bird. It has a small white and red patch directly under its yellow-beaked black head, with the black continuing down over its neck and chest. A white body, contrasted with white-streaked brown wings, makes it a lovely looking bird.
This is just a sampling of the great number of varieties of geese found in North America, Europe and other parts of the world. Every one of them tells of the Creator’s wonderful creation of such an amazing variety of living things.
The opening Bible verse states that, while young, we should be enjoying the knowledge of God and the blessed Lord and Saviour, through whom all things have been created and are upheld. Reading God’s Word cannot help but impress us that the teachings of creation in the Bible are true and give lasting joy and wisdom.
(to be continued)
ML-10/09/2005