Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis

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. Barnacle Geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic including Greenland, Svalbard & Novaya Zemlya and winter on the Hebrides of western Scotland, western Ireland, the Solway Firth on the England/Scotland border, the Netherlands.

Factsheet: Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis