Barnacle Goose
Branta leucopsis (Bechstein, 1803)
Anatidae — Ducks, Geese, Swans
Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis, is a goose in the Anatidae family and the order Anseriformes. Its breeding range in the IOC list covers the high Arctic of eastern Greenland, Svalbard in northern Norway, and Novaya Zemlya together with nearby Kolguyev and Vaygach islands in north-west Russia. It nests on small islands or on high mountain cliffs, sometimes 200–300 m above the surrounding ground. The species is common and widespread, and both its population and breeding range have expanded in recent decades.
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae — Ducks, Geese, Swans
- Breeding range
- Palearctic: high Arctic e Greenland, Svalbard (n of Norway), Novaya Zemlya and nearby Kolguyev and Vaygach is. (nw Russia)
- Nonbreeding range
- to coastal n British Isles, s Scandinavia, and nw Europe
