The Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) is a small, dark sea goose with a black head, black breast and compact build, roughly 55–62 cm long with a wingspan of about 105–117 cm and a weight of around 1,100–1,600 g — smaller than both the Barnacle Goose and the Greylag Goose. The head, neck and breast are black, the rest of the body dark brownish-grey, and adults show a small, indistinct white neck patch that forms a narrow streaked band. The undertail is a striking white, clearly visible when the bird takes flight or lands, giving an otherwise plain but compact, fast-flying, tightly flocking goose. The call is a characteristic soft, rolling, slightly grating "rott-rott", often the first clue to a flock resting out on a bay.
Brant Geese breed on Arctic tundra in North America, Europe and Asia and winter along the coasts of the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Pacific; in Sweden and Denmark the species occurs only as a passage and staging migrant, chiefly in May and again in September–November, when large numbers rest in Öresund, Kalmarsund and along the coasts of Gotland. Two subspecies reach Scandinavian waters — a pale-bellied population from Svalbard and a dark-bellied one from Siberia. The birds feed largely on eelgrass, seaweed and other marine plants on shallow seabeds, supplemented by grazing on coastal meadows and pasture, and eelgrass availability strongly influences where flocks choose to stop. Breeding takes place only on the Arctic tundra, where nests are built on the ground, often in loose colonies near the coast, and success depends heavily on an early snow-free summer. The species is classified as Least Concern (LC).
Read about this species in Swedish →