Brent goose facts

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The brent goose belongs to the family Anatidae under the order Anseriformes. It is also known as brant goose.

This goose species breeds in Arctic region. The goose species is a long distance migrant and winters in southern coastal areas.

Brent goose - key facts

  • Common English name: Brent goose
  • Other names: Brant, Brant Goose
  • Scientific name: Branta bernicla
  • Family: Anatidae (ducks, swans and geese)
  • Description: Small (slightly larger than mallard), dark upperparts, varying underpart plumage
  • Measurements: Length 55-65 cm; weight 850-1800 gm; wingspan 110–125 cm
  • Distribution: North America, Asia, Europe
  • Habitat: Arctic tundra, ice tundra, grass tundra, coastal ecosystem
  • Diet and feeding habits: marine algae, grass, moss, lichen

  • IUCN: Least Concern (LC)
  • Species author: (Linnaeus, 1758)


Vernacular names of Brent goose

  • Chinese: 黑雁
  • French: Bernache cravant
  • German: Ringelgans
  • Japanese: コクガン
  • Spanish: Barnacla carinegra
  • Russian: Чёрная казарка

Taxonomic facts of Branta bernicla

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Anseriformes
Family:Anatidae
Genus:Branta
Species:B. bernicla
Subspecies:4 subspecies
Binomial name:Branta bernicla
Synonyms/Protonym:Anas Bernicla Linnaeus, 1758

Subspecies of Branta bernicla

  • Branta bernicla bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Branta bernicla hrota (O. F. Müller, 1776)
  • Branta bernicla nigricans (Lawrence, 1846)
  • Branta bernicla orientalis Tugarinov, 1941
brent goose - pale-bellied
1.Brent goose (pale-bellied)
Image by Peter Massas


Branta bernicla (pale-bellied)
2.Brent goose (pale-bellied)
Image by Arnstein Rønning
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1.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Branta_bernicla_-Keyport,_New_Jersey,_USA-8.jpg (cropped)
Author: Peter Massas | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 1/10/19
2.Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Branta_bernicla_Lvk.jpg (cropped)
Author: Arnstein Rønning | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 as on 1/10/19
Link to Creative Commons copyright licenses


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