Spring diets of sympatric Greater Snow Geese and Canada Geese in southern Quebec

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We compared the diets of Greater Snow Geese (Anser caerulescens atlantica) and Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) during their spring staging period at Lake St. Pierre in southern Quebec. In waste cornfields, diet was established by examining the esophageal contents of birds shot while feeding, whereas in grasslands, diet was determined by microhistological analysis of plant fragments found in droppings. Corn accounted for >95% of the diet of both species when feeding in cornfields. Grasses, especially Phleum pratense, dominated the diet of both species in all grassland habitats (>86%), whereas legumes represented