The cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) is a species of goose found in North America. Systematics The genus name Branta is a Latinised form of Old Norse Brandgás, "burnt (black) goose", and the specific epithet hutchinsii commemorates English surgeon Thomas Hutchins who was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. The cackling goose was originally considered to be the same species or a subspecies of the Canada goose, but in July 2004 the American Ornithologists' Union's (AOU) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature split the two into two species, making cackling goose into a full species with the scientific name Branta hutchinsii. The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) followed suit in June 2005. The AOU has divided the many associated subspecies between both animals. To the present species were assigned: Richardson's cackling goose (B. h. hutchinsii) Aleutian cackling goose (B. h. leucopareia) Small cackling goose (B. h. minima) Taverner's cackling goose (B. h. taverneri) †Bering cackling goose (B. h. asiatica)—doubtfully distinct from B. h. leucopareia; extinct (c.1929) The distinctions between the two geese have led to a great deal of confusion and debate among ornithologists. This has been aggravated by the overlap between the small types of Canada goose and larger types of cackling goose. The old "lesser Canada geese" were believed to be a partly hybrid population, with the birds named taverneri considered a mixture of minima with subspecies occidentalis and parvipes, which today remain with the Canada goose proper. Actually however, taverneri is one of the larger subspecies of cackling geese. In addition, it has been determined that the barnacle goose (B. leucopsis) is a derivative of the cackling goose lineage, whereas the Hawaiian goose (B. sandvicensis) is an insular representative of the Canada goose. In the wake of the discussion generated by the official standalone species designation, introduced by the AOU and BOU in 2004 and 2005, Harold C. Hanson published a paper in 2007 suggesting that Canada and cackling geese should be split into six species and 200 subspecies. The radical nature of this proposal provoked surprise, with Richard Banks of the AOU urging caution before any of Hanson's proposals be accepted. No further redesignation has been introduced by either of these Ornithologists' Unions. Description The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish this goose from all other geese except the larger Canada goose (Branta canadensis) and the similarly sized barnacle goose (B. leucopsis). There are up to 5