Brent Goose (Dark-bellied)
| Irish Name: | Cadhan |
| Scientific name: | Branta bernicla bernicla |
| Bird Family: | Geese |
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Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
A rare winter visitor from Siberia from October to March.
Identification
Very similar to the much commoner Light-bellied Brent Goose and care is needed to separate the two species. Dark-bellied Brent can be identified by the darker and much more extensive grey colouring on the flanks and back. The white flank patch that is very obvious in Light-bellied Brent Goose is reduced to a stripe along the flanks. Juvenile Light-bellied Brent similarly show a lack of a white flank patch, however these have extensive white barring on the back, which is not shown by adults.
Voice
Indistinguishable from Light-bellied Brent Goose.
Diet
Favoured food is eel-grass found in coastal estuaries. Dark-bellied Brent Geese also feed on other estuarine plants such as glassworts and sea aster, and to a lesser extent grasses and cereals.
Breeding
Dark-bellied Brent Geese breed in the tundra of northern Siberia.
Wintering
The majority of Dark-bellied Brent Geese winter in the Netherlands, northern France and the United Kingdom. This sub-species is a rare winter visitor in Ireland, where it associates with Light-bellied Brent Geese at coastal sites (mainly estuaries).
Monitored by
Rare Winter visitor, on arrival generally mixing with Light-bellied race of Brent Geese.
Breeding range in Siberia.
