Breakfast sausage is just that. It either comes in the form of a patty or a link, made from pork usually, and is spiced differently than other sausages. I've never heard of maple syrup as an ingredient of them, but the brand I typically eat when I'm having a hankering for it is either Tennessee Pride or Jimmy Dean . They tend to have more of a peppery kick. I usually make sausage biscuits and gravy cuz omg so yummy.

Other sausages include Italian (Sweet, Spicy, Mild), Bratwurst, Knackwurst, Chorizo, Kielbasa, and the kind that is attached to the lower half of a male.