Barnacle goose

Barnacle goose
Branta leucopsis, Bechstein, 1803

Barnacle geese are monogamous; these migratory medium-sized geese mate for life. In winter they occupy meadows and fields located near the coast. They nest in colonies, in the company of other bird species, on Arctic islands and coasts, with rocky, steep slopes, or on rock shelves at the waterfront so that their eggs are protected from the polar fox. The male does not differ in colouring from the female. It doesn’t appear in Poland, except during migrations, most often in October or at the turn of March and April.
Distribution: eastern Greenland, Spitsbergen, south of Novaya Zemlya, northern Norway

male / female
body length: 55–70 cm
wingspan: 120–145 cm
body mass: 1,2–1,23 kg