page_title: Barnacle goose
section_title: Distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Barnacle goose / Distribution
caption_attribution_description: English&#x3a;&#32; Egg of barnacle goose Collection of Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.Français&#x202f;&#x3a;&#32; Œuf de Bernache nonnette Collection Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.
context_page_description: The barnacle goose belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. Despite its superficial similarity to the brant goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the cackling goose lineage.
context_section_description: Barnacle geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic. The three main populations, with separate breeding and wintering ranges, from west to east, are:
  Breeding in eastern Greenland, wintering on the Hebrides of western Scotland and in western Ireland, population about 40,000
  Breeding on Svalbard, wintering on the Solway Firth on the England/Scotland border, population about 24,000
  Breeding on Novaya Zemlya, wintering in the Netherlands, population about 130,000
  A new fourth population, derived from the Novaya Zemlya population, has become established since 1975 breeding on the islands and coasts of the Baltic Sea (Estonia, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden), and wintering in the Netherlands. Its population numbers about 8,000.
  Small numbers of feral birds, derived from escapes from zoo collections, also breed in other Northern European countries. Occasionally, a wild bird will appear in the Northeastern United States or Canada, but care must be taken to separate out wild birds from escaped individuals, as barnacle geese are popular waterfowl with collectors.
caption: Branta leucopsis - MHNT
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