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Barnacle goose

Birds

The barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis, is a medium-sized waterfowl of the family Anatidae in the genus Branta, first classified by Johann Matthaus Bechstein in 1803. It measures 55 to 70 centimeters long with a wingspan of 120 to 145 centimeters and weighs 1.21 to 2.23 kilograms, with a white face, black head, neck and upper breast, a white belly, silver-grey wings and back barred in black and white, black legs and a small stubby black bill; a rare leucistic form with white plumage and black markings also occurs. Five distinct populations breed and winter across different ranges, from eastern Greenland wintering in Scotland and Ireland, through Iceland, Svalbard wintering at the Solway Firth, Russian Arctic birds wintering in the Wadden Sea, and a Baltic and North Sea population established since 1971. Its closest genetic relative is the cackling goose, and medieval folklore mistakenly held that the birds hatched from goose barnacles, a belief that persisted into the 18th century; the species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with populations and breeding ranges increasing in recent decades. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Classification
Diet
Herbivore 1
System (Realm)
Marine 2
Relationship to People
Agricultural or Structural Pest 3
Living or Extinct
Yes 4
Scientific Name
Branta leucopsis 4
Conservation Status
Least Concern 2
Comparison
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 3
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Anatidae, Taxa
Source Barnacle goose (Wikidata)

In Biome

Tundra, Biomes
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Branta leucopsis

In Ecosystem

Svalbard, Ecosystems
Source Barnacle goose (Wikipedia)
Wadden Sea, Ecosystems
Source Barnacle goose (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

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Sources
1. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
2. Barnacle goose (Wikipedia)
  • Infobox: status
    LC
  • System/realm (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
    Five distinct populations breed and winter across different ranges, from eastern Greenland wintering in Scotland and Ireland, through Iceland, Svalbard wintering at the Solway Firth, Russian Arctic birds wintering in the Wadden Sea, and a Baltic and North Sea population established since 1971.
  • In Ecosystem: Wadden Sea, Distribution and population size
    Breeding on Novaya Zemlya, Dolgy Island, Kanin Peninsula, Yugorsky Peninsula and the Barents Sea coastline in the Russian Arctic, wintering in the Wadden Sea area in southwest Denmark, northwest Germany and the Netherlands.
  • In Ecosystem: Svalbard, Distribution and population size
    Breeding on Svalbard, Norway, and wintering almost entirely in Solway Firth on the England/Scotland border, with small numbers elsewhere in the region, particularly around Budle Bay in Northumberland.
View the Source
3. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Branta leucopsis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  • Economic Importance for Humans: Negative Impacts
    Negative Impacts crop pest
  • Conservation Status: CITES
    CITES No special status
  • In Biome: Tundra, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
    tundra tundra
View the Source
4. Barnacle goose (Wikidata)
Wikidata
  • Wikidata Q26680 (P225 taxon name)
  • Statements section, conservation status (P141)
    IUCN Red List conservation status (Wikidata property P141): least concern.
  • Child Taxon Of: Anatidae, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source
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