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Red-breasted Goose

Red-breasted Goose

Branta ruficollis

Identify the Red-breasted Goose by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Red-breasted Goose is a small, strikingly patterned goose with bold chestnut, black and white plumage. It breeds on the Arctic tundra of Siberia, mainly on the Taymyr Peninsula, and winters mainly around the north-western Black Sea. Despite its vivid colours, it can be hard to spot at a distance in flocks of other geese. It is listed as Vulnerable.

Did you know?

  • Ancient Egyptian artists painted this goose, including in the famous Meidum Geese mural.
  • It often nests right beside the nests of birds of prey, gaining protection from foxes.

Voice

Song
Call

About the species

Identification

A small goose with a black back and wings, a clear white flank stripe and a rusty-red breast and cheek bordered by white. The strong black-and-white pattern of the head and neck and the rusty-red breast stand out even at a distance and separate it from Barnacle and Brant Geese.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Very large (swan)

Colours

black, red, white

About the habitat

Breeds on open Arctic tundra near rivers and cliffs; in winter grasslands and cereal fields near the Black Sea coast.

Diet

Grazes succulent grasses and eats seeds and cereal grain, especially in winter; downy young eat insects.

Behaviour

A long-distance migrant that often travels within mixed goose flocks. On the breeding grounds it forms small colonies and frequently nests close to raptors such as Peregrine Falcons, Rough-legged Buzzards or Snowy Owls, which help keep Arctic foxes away. The female lays 6–7 eggs in June and incubates for about 23–25 days while the male stands guard.

Sources

Photo: Adrian Pingstone (Arpingstone), Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red-breasted goose arp.jpg

Sound: Pascal Christe, XC699552, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/699552

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC1079954, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/1079954

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions + Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-breasted_goose

See also