Brent Goose

• GeneralIn winter it depends almost entirely on eelgrass beds.
• It is the type species of the genus Branta, created by Scopoli in 1769.
• Its scientific name, bernicla, and the English name of its relative the barnacle goose both come from the same medieval myth about goose barnacles.
• It is the most coastal of the black geese: it spends the winter hugging the sea and barely ventures inland.
• Its dependence on a single plant almost finished it off: a disease that devastated the Atlantic Zostera beds in the 1930s brought its populations on both sides of the ocean crashing down within a few seasons.
• Its European name comes from a medieval legend: it was believed to be born from the goose barnacles that grow on driftwood, because nobody had ever seen its nests, and that supposed shellfish nature made it acceptable to eat during Lent.
• It breeds on the northernmost tundra on the planet and migrates to temperate latitudes, a journey the young make within a few weeks of hatching.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Coastal Arctic tundra for breeding; saltmarsh and bays with eelgrass beds in winter

Sexual maturity

2 years

Gestation / incubation

24 days

Litter / clutch size

4

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; eBird; Wikipedia (Branta); Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard); Linnaeus 1758

Best time: In winter, in marshes, on rocky coasts, in sheltered bays and on beaches