Branta leucopsis
EOL Text
Early History (barnacles and geese): Barnacle goose gets its name from the early belief that the birds were born of barnacles in the sea shores. This was because the residents of the British Isles could not explain why the birds showed up in the summer and were absent in the winter.
Additional Information: During migratory flight, the heart rate of the barnacle goose can go up to a high of 315 beats per minute and a low of 225 beats per minute.
- Butler, P., C. Bishop, A. Woakes. 2003. Chasing a Wild Goose: Posthatch Growth of Locomotor Muscles and Behavioral Physiology of Migration of an Arctic Goose. Pp. 527-542 in P Berthold, E Gwinner, E Sonnenschein, eds. Avian Migration. New York: Springer.
- Wheye, D., D. Kennedy. 2008. Humans, Nature, and Birds. New Haven: Yale University Press.
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Branta_leucopsis/ |
Greenland to Novaya Zemlya; winters to n Mediterranean.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
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| Rights holder/Author | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
| Source | No source database. |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 5 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Gulf of Maine, North West Atlantic, Polish Exclusive Economic Zone, Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone, United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone, Wimereux
- Müller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.
- North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)
- MEDIN (2011). UK checklist of marine species derived from the applications Marine Recorder and UNICORN, version 1.0.
- Ramos, M. (ed.). 2010. IBERFAUNA. The Iberian Fauna Databank
- Kedra, M. (2010). A Checklist of marine species occurring in Polish marine waters, compiled in the framework of the PESI EU FP7 project.
Red List Criteria
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
History
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2008Least Concern
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2004Least Concern
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| Rights holder/Author | © International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/100600385 |
A casual of accidental visitor to northeast seaboard of North America.
- North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)
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| Rights holder/Author | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License |
| Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159177 |
Barnacle geese are considered Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) Red List. Population sizes range from a few thousand to well over 100,000 and they are protected throughout their range. The Barnacle Goose Management Scheme in Scotland, United Kingdom makes efforts to protect barnacle geese from persecution by farmers during the wintering periods when the geese are frequent visitors to croplands. This conservation group helps farmers to make their land more suitable to supporting barnacle geese and also gives financial rewards to those that refrain from disturbing the birds on their property.
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
- 2011. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" (On-line). Accessed February 24, 2011 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/.
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Branta_leucopsis/ |
The species consists of four main migrant populations that utilize various wintering and breeding grounds. These main populations number in the tens of thousands with the largest consisting of well over 100,000 individuals. Other smaller populations have been identified but these populations number only in the few thousands. The wintering grounds of all of these populations are located in the British Isles and coastal Netherlands and are separated by relatively short distances, while their breeding grounds are widely separated in the northern European arctic. These four main populations range from their wintering grounds in northern Scotland to their breeding grounds on the east coast of Greenland:
Greenland population: This population consists of about 45,000 individuals. Their breeding grounds are located on the ice-free coasts of East Greenland. These individuals gather mostly on cliff ledges or on small islands that are close to the shores. In September, when the weather conditions in Greenland worsen, they head for their wintering grounds on the shores and islands of northern Scotland. On their way to Scotland, they make a stop at Iceland for about four weeks and then continue their migration.
Svalbard population: This population consists of about 25,000 individuals. They breed on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago and the small islands that surround it. They leave Svalbard in the middle of September and make a stop on the western coast of Norway before continuing on to their wintering grounds in Solway Firth on the west coast of England. This migration path is about 2,500 to 3,000 km in distance.
Russian population: This population consists of over 100,000 individuals. They breed on the north-west coast of arctic Russia. This population initially wintered in Western Germany, however due to increased interruption of wintering areas in Western Germany and the creation of new grazing areas in the coastal regions of Netherlands the entire population has had to shift their wintering grounds to the Netherlands.
Novaya Zemlya population: This population consists of about 10,000 individuals. They breed in the archipelago islands of Novaya Zemlya off the coast of western arctic Russian mainland. They migrate to the coastal regions of Netherlands to spend the winter.
Additionally, it is believed that an ancient population may also have lived on the north-east coast of Canada, however currently there is insufficient data to support this hypothesis.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native )
Other Geographic Terms: holarctic
- Clements, J. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
- Gosler, A. 2007. Birds of the World: A Photographic Guide. New York: Firefly Books.
- Sale, R. 2006. A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife. New York: Firefly Books.
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Branta_leucopsis/ |
Accidental visitor.
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| Rights holder/Author | Bibliotheca Alexandrina, BA Cultnat, Bibliotheca Alexandrina - EOL Ar |
| Source | http://lifedesk.bibalex.org/ba/pages/1053 |
Branta leucopsis in adult plumage has a rounded body, a rounded head, and a relatively short neck. The white feathers on the head cover a greater portion of the face than that of Branta canadensis (Canada goose). Overall, the face patch is white or often creamy-white and also extends to the forehead and under the throat. The black coloration of the neck extends below the chest. The ventrum of this species is white colored towards the posterior end and light-gray colored towards the anterior side. A black colored thin strip of feathers joins the eye and the bill. The feet are entirely black colored. The dorsal feathers are dark, bluish-grey. The tail is completely black both on its dorsal and ventral sides. The bill is black colored and short. The feather coloration above the wing is dark grey while the coloration below the wing is light, silvery-grey and white. Plumage is the same in both males and females of the species. However, males are usually larger in body size and weight than females. Adults weigh between 1.4 and 2.2 kg and feature a wingspan of 130 to 145 cm. Body length ranges from 55 to 70 cm.
Young adult barnacle geese (in their first winter) look very much the same as adults with slight plumage color variations. The black feathers of the neck and chest will often have a duller color compared to those of adults. It is possible to see a few brown feathers in the neck region as well. The faces of young birds may have few dark fleckings which can be hard to detect from a distance.
Downy young barnacle geese have grey-brown feathers on their dorsal parts, neck, chest, and crown. The ventrum of the downy young is pale-yellow. The line of feathers that extends from the bill to the eye is dark-grey colored. The feet and the bill are dark-grey colored as well. White spots are common on the wings.
Variation of plumage in adults has been observed but is rare. Adults with entirely dark brown to entirely white feathers have been observed in the past.
Range mass: 1.4 to 2.2 kg.
Average mass: 1.9 kg.
Range length: 55 to 70 cm.
Average length: 64 cm.
Range wingspan: 130 to 145 cm.
Average wingspan: 141 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike; male larger
- Ogilvie, M. 1978. Wild Geese. South Dakota: Buteo Books.
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
| Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Branta_leucopsis/ |