Brant Goose
Branta bernicla
A small wild goose species. Its bill, head, neck, primary feathers and tail feathers are black. Its back, chest and upper belly are dark gray. Despite its overall dark plumage, its rump is strikingly white. A half-moon-shaped white patch is visible on either side of its neck, which develops in juveniles over the autumn.
Among its three subspecies, the darkest-bellied is B. b. nigricans, found in eastern Siberia, Alaska, and northwest Canada. The subspecies B. b. bernicla from Western Siberia has a lighter gray belly, while the lightest-bellied subspecies, B. b. hrota, breeds in Spitsbergen, Greenland and Iceland.
Brant Geese breed closest to the North Pole among all the above species. Their breeding period is the shortest of any wild goose, with only three and a half months from egg-laying to fledging before migration. They are coastal migrants and only rarely stray inland. In the Carpathian Basin, including Hungary, they are very rare vagrants, with occasional sightings on the Tatai-tavak Ramsar Site every few years.
Protected in Hungary, conservation value: 50,000 HUF.
Illustration: Szabolcs Kókay – BirdLife Hungary– www.mme.hu
