Why do geese honk when they are flying?

Types of Vocalizations-

The Canada Goose is a waterfowl, and not a singing species of bird. However, the Canada Goose has an intricate system of vocal communication, and their repertoire includes 13 different calls for adults, although this is debated among some experts (Whitford, 1987). The types of call include Honking, Hucka, Snore, and Cackle (Whitford, 1998). They are most vocal during flight- especially in large flocks- and more socially dominant individuals have been observed to be far more vocal than more submissive members of the flock. (Hanson 1965, Williams 1967). Some of the 13 calls seem gender-specific (Whitford, 1987), for example in larger sub-species of Canada Goose the “honk” call is restricted to males, with females having a similar but shorter and higher-pitched “hrink” call (Collias and Jahn 1959). While these differences are more or less accounted for by morphological factors like neck length and lung size between sexes, there are also behavioral variations that need to be taken into consideration (Whitford, 1987).

Goose vocalizations depend very heavily on the context in which they are made, such as location, posture, age of bird, season, and social context. The “honk” call of the Canada goose is used variously to ward off intruders, advertise territory boundaries, as a long-distance call, to answer a mate, as part of a greeting ceremony after being separated from a mate, and when in flight or about to take flight. The honk call is loud and resonant (Whitford, 1998). “Hisses” are used basically when threatened, directed at short-distance intruders, which might include other geese, ducks, or humans. (Whitford, 1998). Generally, for short-distance communication with other geese (for example, mating situations, or communication with young), quiet, short grunts are used. Females have a special greeting call, which is a loud and prolonged snoring vocalization (Whitford, 1998). The Canada Goose has a fairly large vocal range, of 500-850 hz, and there is little discernible difference between the subspecies (Whitford 1998). Larger species tend to rely more heavily on honking, and small species rely more on slightly higher pitched calls, and there are generally slight differences in otherwise-similar calls between subspecies. This is likely due to physical differences, such as lung capacity and body-to-neck ratio. (Wurdinger 1970, and Sutherland and McChesney 1965). Geese of different species who come into contact on wintering grounds, and in human captivity have been observed to communicate. Calls and vocalizations in general are more frequent during the spring, when pairs of geese are nesting and defending territory.

Learning-

There is little evidence that the calls of the Canada Goose are learned. Vocalizations start to develop before the young birds have even hatched (Wurdinger 1970, and Cowan 1973), and at first gosling calls are limited to strong, single peeps or warbling trills (Whitford 1987). As the bird matures, some gosling-specific calls are replaced with adult versions (Wurdinger, 1970). While calls are considered innate, call development is correlated to social contact with the parents and other family.

Further Research-

There hasn’t been much recent research on Canada Goose vocalizations. Research ought to go in the direction of comparing the vocalizations between the differently sized subspecies (Mowbray et al., 2002). Scientists have already documented differences in call between species in terms of frequency, duration, and interval, as well as the morphological differences that probably cause the differences, but further research seems to be needed on the exact nuances of usage. An observational experiment would be needed, where scientists collect information of a specific call type from several similar-sized flocks of different subspecies. The information would include the specific behavior associated with the call type for each given species, and then further analysis could be done marking out the differences between groups. From there, if any significant differences in usage are discovered, progress could be made to learn why these behavioral splits exist. Once further distinction is made in calls between subspecies, the path to further progress in understanding dialectic differences between the same species in different geographical regions will  become more clear.

-“Honk” Call of 2 different subspecies of Canada Goose. (http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/682/articles/species/682/galleries/figures/figure-2)

Click here to listen to a call of a Canada Goose. 

Citations:

Mowbray, Thomas B., Craig R. Ely, James S. Sedinger and Robert E. Trost. 2002. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online.

Whitford, P.C.  1987.  Vocal and visual communication and other social behavior in Canada Geese.  Thesis.  682:

Cowan, P.J.  1973.  Parental calls and approach behavior of young Canada Geese: a laboratory study.  Can. J. Zool 51: 647-650.

Whitford, P. C. 1998. Vocal and visual communication of Giant Canada Geese. Biology and management of Canada Geese: 375-386

Collias, N. E. and L. R. Jahn. 1959. Social behavior and breeding success in Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) confined under semi-natural conditions. Auk 76:478-509.

Wurdinger, I. 1970. Production, development and function of four goose species (Anser indicus, A. caerulescens, A. albifrons, and Branta canadensis). Z. Tierpsychol. 27:257-302.

Sutherland, C. A. and D. S. McChesney. 1965. Sound production in two species of geese. Living Bird 4:99-106.

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The following guest post was promoted from the Forums. It was written by Jonathan Groe, the founder of CentsToShare, the personal finance journey of an early 20’s java developer who understands the importance of saving money.

I recently found a really interesting article that talks a little about the natural tendencies of geese to help each other out when in flight formation, and how that kind of support plays a large role in our finances.

Nature at Work: Lessons From Geese

Nature has a reputation for finding pretty efficient ways of surviving, and the goose is a prime example. It has been found that geese who travel together in formation are able to travel between 75-80% farther than a single goose traveling alone.

Geese that travel in formation, fly in the shape of a V. By traveling this way, geese are able to maximize the amount of energy that gets output from each goose during flight. The goose in the front creates a slipstream for which the geese following can pass through, creating less drag on the overall group. The geese behind help to push the geese in front of them when they push their wings up, because it creates an upward draft that lunges forward. The effect is similar to a push-pull motion, that helps all members of the flock.

The lead goose uses a lot more energy than the following geese, and so gets tired much more quickly. To mitigate this problem, the lead goose position is rotated among all members of the flock, so that each goose takes the lead position, but then gets to rest before taking the lead again.

A third, very interesting observation, is that any geese that drop from the flock, whether due to injury, sickness, or lack of energy, will never be left behind. Typically, a few geese will stay with the goose that falls behind, in order to encourage and help protect the goose, until he/she is ready to return to the flock.

Why Geese Honk at Each Other

The most important point I learned from this information has to do with how geese constantly honk at each other, while they are flying. Sometimes you can even hear it as they fly over, it can get so loud. The last month, especially has been pretty active for geese, as they migrate to warmer temperatures. Scientists think this honking has two effects on the entire flock. First off, it probably allows the geese to locate each other, in order to avoid hitting one other. Secondly, and possibly more important, it is widely thought that this honking is a way of encouraging one another, in order to keep up flock moral. By honking, geese are able to communicate their mutual success, and really put forth a full effort for the entire flock.

How it applies to us

After reading this, and the subsequent analysis of how this environment helps bloggers continue to support each other, and come up with new ideas, I realized this idea applies to personal finance as well.

For a long time the subject of personal finance has been taboo. People, even today, isolate themselves in their financial world, never sharing ideas on savings, or debt management, and never benefit from the shared environment that is so simple to replicate, even a goose can do it.

If such a beneficial support system can be created by geese, it’s strange that humans find it difficult to replicate the same thing. Ultimately it comes down to pride, I think. By not displaying how much money or debt you have, you leave your neighbors wondering, and possibly trying to outdo you by purchasing more things. This also works in reverse, and leads to the negative effect of spending more money, and piling up debt. If I knew how much money my neighbor had, or maybe more importantly how much debt he had, I’m pretty sure I’d think about my finances in a completely different way. And I don’t think this new way would necessarily be negative for me.

We are seeing a revolution to this type of isolated mentality. Because talking about these things in person is often seen as uncomfortable, people are beginning to take to the informal medium of blogging about personal finance. People are sharing tips on savings, investing, debt management, and even going so far as to announce bank account balances to the general public. This type of thinking was non-existent just 10 years ago.

The effect of this change in financial discussions has been absolutely astounding. It’s so encouraging and uplifting, to me, to read so many stories about people becoming debt free, about becoming minimalist, or just about changing up your way of thinking about money and life. To someone who is struggling with their personal finances, I can’t imagine the hope that these stories bring forth. I’m sure it’s pretty similar to how a goose who falls behind his flock feels when a few of his flock come back to find him and help him fly in formation. It brings about strength, and a sense of belonging and inclusion that can conquer any obstacle.

I encourage everyone to share their honks! After all, we are in this together.

Photo By Alanna