Barnacle Goose

The Barnacle goose was first classified taxonomically by Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1803. Its specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek leuko- white, and opsis faced.

The Barnacle Goose is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. Despite its superficial similarity to the Brent Goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the Cackling Goose lineage. More

The Barnacle goose was first classified taxonomically by Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1803. Its specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek leuko- "white", and opsis "faced". In English, the term "barnacle" originally referred only to this species of goose and only later to the crustacean barnacles. It is sometimes claimed that the word comes from a Celtic word for "limpet", but the sense-history seems to go in the opposite direction. More

01670 - Barnacle Goose - Branta leucopsis Remark: one barnacle has been blue-neckbanded (B-VU), together with moulting greylags. arne.follestad@ninatrd.ninaniku.no or Leif.Nilsson@zooekol.lu.se Sat-tracked birds can be followed on www.sovon.nl - Grey ring (on leg) with 3 black letters. direct report : www.ringmerking.no The purpose of this page is to make it easy for observers to report information on colour-ringed birds. More

The Barnacle Goose is a medium-sized goose, 60–70 cm long, with a white face and black head, neck, and upper breast. Its belly is white. The wings and its back are silver-gray with black-and-white bars that look like they are shining when the light reflects on it. During flight a V-shaped white rump patch and the silver-gray underwing linings are visible. More

The Barnacle Goose is native to numerous countries, including several throughout Europe. This bird can also be found in the United States as well. The range of this bird around the world is estimated to be as much as 100,000 square kilometers with a population of almost half a million. The rating of the Barnacle Goose at this time is Least Concern. Due to this bird species' population and range, there are not currently any concerns regarding extinction. More

The Barnacle Goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. According to Sveriges ornitologiska f?rening the geese began breeding in Sweden in 71, and according to Skansen it was 40 years ago more or less the entire population of barnacle geese left in the autumn to return in spring, soon after they began breeding in the wild. Folklore Barnacle Geese. More

Bernache nonnette The Barnacle Goose is a small goose easily identified by its black neck and chest, pure white small head, grey striped back contrasting with a very pale underpart . There are some similitudes with the Canada Goose, but the latter has a longer neck. Also, the Canada Goose has a pale or brown chest, never black. The Barnacle Goose has a small triangular black beak, black legs and a white rump. In flight, wings look wide. More

The natural history of barnacle goose was long surrounded with a legend claiming that they were born of driftwood: Nature produces against Nature in the most extraordinary way. They are like marsh geese but somewhat smaller. They are produced from fir timber tossed along the sea, and are at first like gum. Afterwards they hang down by their beaks as if they were a seaweed attached to the timber, and are surrounded by shells in order to grow more freely. More

Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis Wild Barnacle Geese are rather scarce in Norfolk but odd birds are usually present among the wintering Pink-footed Geese (such as the birds in the first four photos below) and small flocks sometimes appear during influxes of geese from the near Continent. Much larger numbers occur in the north of the country of course and there is no better place to see them than at Caerlaverock WWT in south-west Scotland. More

Adult barnacle goose in flight Barnacle geese migrate to Britain and Ireland in the winter, to escape the harsher climates of Greenland and Svalbard Island. The sudden appearance of the adult geese, with no prior sign of nesting or goslings, gave rise in folklore to the story that barnacle geese either grew on trees or developed from the goose barnacles found on driftwood. What do they sound like? - 1. More

The Barnacle Goose is a winter visitor to Scotland. Every year the entire population of about 25000 birds from Svalbard migrates to the Solway Firth area particularly to the WWT reserve at Caerlaverock and the RSPB reserve at Merse Head. More

The barnacle goose breeds in the Arctic, a fact not known for a long time; since no one ever witnessed the bird breeding, it was thought to be spontaneously generated from trees along the shore, or from rotting wood. Wood that has been in the ocean for any length of time is often dotted with barnacles, and it was natural for people to believe that the crustaceans were also engendered directly from the wood, like the geese. More

Wayward Barnacle Goose in Cape May, NJ - Posted 2/18/07 by Paul Kerlinger Outdoor Editor Cape May, NJ - Barnacle Geese aren’t supposed to be in Cape May now or at any time of the year. But this weekend, a wayward goose was munching on grasses on Stephens St., oblivious to the fact that he really should be in Denmark right now. More

bears eating Barnacle Goose eggs on Svalbard, an island near Norway," he added.Eating goose eggs may help polar bears weather climate change by Asian News InternationalA barnacle goose was with them, but there was no sign of the small race Canada goose from Downholland.John Dempsey on country matters.. by Daily Post (Liverpool, England)The bernicle goose; - now called barnacle goose ltname> and also called clack goose ltname>. More

the barnacle goose; more than 300 years went by before barnacle was used to refer to the crustacean. One might well wonder what the connection between these two creatures is. The answer lies in natural history. Until fairly recent times, it was widely believed that certain animals were engendered spontaneously from particular substances. Maggots, for instance, were believed to be generated from rotting meat. More

Barnacle Goose determination Similar species Anatidae American Wigeon | Baikal Teal | Bar-Headed Goose | Barnacle Goose | Barrows Goldeneye | Bean Goose | Black Swan | Blue-Winged Teal | Brent Goose | Bufflehead | Cackling Goose | Canada Goose | Canvasback | Common Scoter | Egyptian Goose | Eider | Falcated Duck | More

Adult Barnacle Goose in a North Yarmouth hayfield, photographed earlier this month Photo by Don Reimer by Don Reimer While it is true that birds of a feather generally tend to flock together, occasionally birds of a slightly different feather may join them. If you look closely at the center of the photo you will notice a slightly smaller goose among a flock of Canada Geese. More

be mistaken for the barnacle goose which is a water fowl. A long time ago, people believed that the goose barnacles were mollusks (such as clams, snails, oysters, and others.) If you look at a picture of goose barnacles like the one above, you can see that they grow together in groups and are attached to plates unlike clams which can move around. Their larvae (babies) are the same as the other crustaceans larvae, until they attach themselves on hard surface. More

the nesting season the barnacle goose feeds mainly on coastal vegetation and in winter on grass, aquatic plants, seaweeds and occasionally crustaceans, mollusc and aquatic insects. More

Greenland Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis (Greenland population) in Britain and Ireland 1956/57 – 2002/03. WWT home | JNCC home The Goose & Swan Monitoring Programme (GSMP) monitors numbers and breeding success of geese and swans in the UK during the non-breeding season. GSMP is organised by WWT on behalf of WWT and JNCC. Email: monitoring@wwt.org. More

The short-billed Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis, has one population of about 8,000 birds which breeds in northeastern Greenland. They begin migration in late August-early September, and most birds stage in southeast Iceland. Having left Iceland in late September, by November most have reached their British and Irish wintering grounds. Studies have shown that these birds are faithful to their wintering grounds, with over 70% of banded birds returning to the same location the following winter. More