Alternative name: Brant Goose
- Branta bernicla
Identification
Dark-bellied Brent (bernicla)
- Black head and neck (except for a white spot on each side of the neck)
- Sharp demarcation from the lower breast, belly, and flank which are light greyish-brown
- Back and wing coverts are darker brown
- Black wing tips
- The vent, under-tail coverts, and upper-tail coverts (only visible in flight) are white
- Black tail
- Bill, legs and feet are black.
Pale-bellied Brent (hrota)
Much paler belly almost without contrast between vent/undertail and belly. Otherwise similar to Dark-bellied.
Black Brent (nigricans and orientalis)
Much darker central belly and breast, almost without contrast between upper breast and lower breast, where the other forms are sharply demarcated.
On the other hand, this form has a white flank in contrast both up and down to darker areas, but almost as light as the undertail. The white spot on the side of the neck is often much stronger, and can be continuous at the back of the neck.
Immature
- All forms lack the white neck marking
- White edges to feathers on the wings and back produce a scaly impression
Distribution
Dark-bellied Brent (bernicla)
Breeds in Siberia except for the eastern part, and winters e.g., in Europe where it is more common than Pale-bellied Brent.
Pale-bellied Brent (hrota)
Breeds in Franz Josef Land, Svalbard, Greenland and northeastern Canada, wintering in Denmark, northeast England, Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland and the Atlantic coast of the United States from Maine to Georgia.
Black Brant (nigricans and orientalis)
Breeds in north-east Siberia to most of Canada, winters to China and Mexico; it is a rare visitor in Europe and British Isles.
Taxonomy
This species has four subspecies, but is normally subdivided into three groups; these three groups have recently been suggested as incipient species, in other words many people expect a split to happen sooner or later. The three groups are:
- Dark Bellied Brent = subspecies bernicla.
- Black Brant = Black-bellied Brent = subspecies nigricans + orientalis.
- Pale-bellied Brent Goose = subspecies hrota.
Habitat
Coasts, tidal estuaries, inland agricultural land and low-lying wet coastal tundra for both breeding and feeding.
Behaviour
The nest is bowl-shaped, lined with grass and down, in an elevated location, often in a small pond.
The diet includes vegetation, especially eel-grass.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Branta bernicla (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
