A goose native to North America, with a long black neck and head and a white patch across the cheeks and chin.
The back is brown and the breast is tan. The sexes have similar plumage, while body size and darkness vary geographically.
Canada geese have used an automotive rubber belt in a rooftop nest. On a shopping-plaza roof in Greenfield, Indiana, a nest included the belt among loose gravel. A different female used the same site later in that breeding season; the belt had moved, and a shallow depression in gravel served as the next nest.
A 2022 paper described five rooftop nesting events observed around Indianapolis from March to July 2021. Roof heights ranged from 2.6 to 12.2 metres. A hotel nest contained leaf litter, twigs and feathers, and a carport nest included leaves and twigs. Another shopping-plaza nest used gravel and a thin plastic sheet with no feathers present. Weekly checks recorded adult bands and eggs, and nest outcomes were assessed using goslings and egg membranes. Urban geese began breeding at elevated sites using varied materials available on the buildings.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
All five Indiana rooftop nesting events produced hatchlings. Researchers rescued goslings at the hotel and one shopping-plaza site during routine checks. The authors identified rooftop barriers as potential obstacles to nest departure, linking building management with the needs of young birds leaving nests. Defensive parental behaviour can also create conflict with people. Nest location, departure routes and proximity to areas used by people are therefore regional urban-wildlife management concerns.