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Barnacle Goose

Branta leucopsisOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Barnacle Goose Portrait
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General

Barnacle Goose: Medium-sized goose with distinctive white face and jet-black head, neck, and upper breast. Wings and back are silver-gray with black-and-white bars. Belly is white. V-shaped white rump patch and silver-gray underwing linings are visible in flight. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Barnacle Goose: Breeds in Greenland and northern Eurasia. Spend winters in northern Europe and British Isles. Probably rare vagrant in northeastern North America, though many records are believed to be of escaped captive birds. Preferred habitats include arctic rivers and marshlands; winters on coastal marshes and grasslands.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kaw"

Interesting Facts

  • The English name of the Barnacle Goose, and the scientific name of the Brent Goose (B. bernicla), come from the fable that Barnacle Geese were produced from barnacles.
  • It was thought they developed from the Goose Barnacle. The confusion was prompted by the similarities in color and shape, and the fact that they appeared in different seasons.
  • It was an important part of medieval cuisine; since it was believed to be produced from barnacles, Catholics classified these geese as fish and therefore could eat their flesh during Lent.
  • A group of geese has many collective nouns, including a "blizzard", "chevron", "knot", "plump", and "string" of geese.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Barnacle Goose
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Branta leucopsis
Length23 - 28 Inches
Wingspan54 Inches

Barnacle Goose

Barnacle Goose: Medium goose, distinctive white face, jet-black head, neck, and upper breast. Wings and back are silver-gray with black-and-white bars. Belly is white. V-shaped white rump patch and silver-gray underwing linings are visible in flight. Black bill,legs and feet. Strong direct flight.

● Song: "kaw"

● Foraging & Feeding: Barnacle Goose: Feeds on grass and coastal plants.

● Breeding & nesting: Barnacle Goose: Four to six gray white to yellow eggs are laid in a depression in sand or rock lined with feathers and down. Nest is often built on inaccessible rock shelf on a cliff or rocky pillar, far from water. Incubation ranges from 24 to 25 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Barnacle Goose: Brant and Canada geese have dark underwings, foreheads, and faces, and lack white sides.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with steady wing beats. Flies in V formation.
Barnacle Goose Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Barnacle Goose: Breeds in Greenland and northern Eurasia. Spend winters in northern Europe and British Isles. Probably rare vagrant in northeastern North America, though many records are believed to be of escaped captive birds. Preferred habitats include arctic rivers and marshlands; winters on coastal marshes and grasslands.
BreedingMonogamous, Scattered colonies
PopulationCasual to accidental
MigrationMigratory
Weight62.4 Ounces