North American Geese: Guide to the Species of Goose in US

There’s something special about watching a flock of geese fly overhead. These beautiful birds are a common sight in North America, and many people enjoy observing them during their migration seasons. If you’re interested in learning more about these fascinating creatures, keep reading!

In this guide, we will provide a guide to the geese species in America, including information on their physical characteristics (want to know the difference between a goose and a swan?), behavior (yes, Geese can Bite Humans), their diet (no don’t feed geese bread!) and more! However, some breeds of geese make great pets but geese are not great at keeping foxes away.

North America Geese Tick Sheet

Download PDF North American Geese Tick Sheet

What Are North American Goose Species?

There are nine different goose breeds in North America:

Rarely spotted geese found in America include accidental sitings of Graylag Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Taiga Bean-Goose, Tundra Bean-Goose, Hawaiian Goose, Orinoco Goose and Egyptian Goose.

All of these birds share some common physical traits: they have long necks, webbed feet, and curved bills. They are also all excellent swimmers and flyers. However, there are some key differences between the species that you should be aware of.

A sub species of the Canada goose is the Giant Canada Goose.

What kind of geese are in North America?

Most of the geese in America are direct descents of the original goose, the greylag goose. From that you will get many different species from a dusky canada goose, cackling canada goose, a snow goose with a blue morph colour, to a snow goose notable by its pink legs, or the Greater white fronted goose notable for its dark brown head.

From white geese to grey geese and the mixture in between can be found, and there has even been an occasional spotting of a red breasted goose. The swan goose duck species are all part of the waterfowl family.

How many types of geese are there in North America?

There are 9 different species of geese in America, though some of these can be broken down into further species, and also there are 7 ‘accidental’ geese found here, who are not native but have been spotted often in flocks of other geese.

There are seven native geese species in the US.

What is the most common geese in North America?

The most common is the canada goose which is very prevalent across the US, and can be found on parks, golf courses and even larger gardens. The giant canada goose is the largest wild goose in the US and it was thought it was the same species as the cackling goose, but recent studies have shown them to be separate species.

Accidental Geese Species in America

The following geese are spotted on occassion in America, but these are rare and ‘accidental’.

Graylag Goose
Lesser White-fronted Goose
Taiga Bean-Goose
Tundra Bean-Goose
Hawaiian Goose
Orinoco Goose
Egyptian Goose

Geese Diet

If you have pet geese or even want to feed some wild geese, then follow our guides to what geese can and can’t eat, you can even find out Why Do Geese Eat Grass? It’s important if keeping geese to ensure they have a balanced diet and this includes ensuring your geese eat enough niacin.

Geese Health & Behavior

If you are looking at wild geese, there are many things to remember. Goose droppings can be toxic, but geese don’t carry rabies but do have other pests like ticks. Geese can attack humans if you get to close and they can bite, with geese tongues have teeth like features and yes, geese do have ears!

Geese can be a pest or a nuisance and you may need to take actions to get rid of geese of your property and especially to keep geese off your dock. Geese can live a long time so its important to move them along if you don’t want them on your property. Scaring geese with sounds can help.

As waterfowl, generally, geese and ducks get along (however, geese and ducks cannot mate).Geese have webbed feet like ducks and geese will drool. However, geese may attack ducks and will attack other geese, like all wild animals to defend their nests, even attacking snakes and remember Geese can Eat Snakes.

Nesting Geese

Geese can lay eggs continually, but generally don’t unlike chickens, with goose eggs hatching in 27 days.. Goslings or baby geese stay with both parents for the season (often carried by their parents), and goslings learn to fly after a few weeks. Geese don’t generally abandon their eggs, unless they have been spooked.

Geese prefer to est on the ground but geese will nest in trees and once geese have a partner, they tend to Geese Mate For Life, (and yes geese do mourn their mates) geese do need a pond for mating. You may have noticed geese often stand on one leg, that’s to conserve energy.

Once they have laid their eggs, they generally don’t move their eggs. Geese don’t bury their eggs but do put materials over the nest to hide them and geese don’t lay their eggs in water.

Geese Flying

Geese flying formations have been the study of many leadership courses over the years. The teamwork involved means that when the geese fly together in the optimal v formation, the whole flock of geese can fly a lot further in one day.

They often fly at night as they can see much better than humans at night. You might be wondering, how How Do Geese Decide Who Leads, quite simply they take it turns in true team style!

Geese eyesight is good and geese do blink, sort of!

Geese & Other Waterfowl

Geese and ducks are the most popular types of waterfowl in North America, and other than their size you might be wondering what’s the difference between geese and ducks or even between geese and swans.

Geese and ducks cannot mate even though they are

Geese in America by State

Download PDF North American Geese Tick Sheet