Species group · Birds
Black Geese
WAnimals has 3 species of black goose, all in the family Anatidae.
- 3 species
- 1 family
- 20 countries
- 68 parks
- Weight
- 1.2 kg – 10.9 kg
- Length
- 55 cm – 1.1 m
- Lifespan
- 17 – 28 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.
All 3 species of black geese on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 20 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
Its chicks throw themselves off cliffs up to 100 m high within days of hatching, to reach the grass below.
From Barnacle Goose
In Greenland it nests high on inaccessible cliffs to escape the Arctic fox and the polar bear, but that leaves the goslings far from food: since the adults do not feed them, three-day-old goslings throw themselves off the cliff and survive the fall thanks to their tiny weight and their down.
From Barnacle Goose
Its name comes from a medieval belief: they were thought to be born from goose barnacle shells, because nobody knew they bred in the Arctic. The myth is documented from at least the 12th century.
From Barnacle Goose
It pairs for life and flies in its characteristic V formation.
From Canada Goose
There is a marked variation in size across its 7 recognised subspecies.
From Canada Goose
One documented bird reached 42 years.
From Canada Goose
In winter it depends almost entirely on eelgrass beds.
From Brent Goose
It is the type species of the genus Branta, created by Scopoli in 1769.
From Brent Goose