The Brant Goose (Branta bernicla), a goose of the genus Branta, is known in North America as Brant, Brent Goose or Black Brant. The spelling "Brant" is the original one, with "Brent" being a later folk-etymological idea that it was derived from a classical Greek waterbird name brenthos. It is in fact onomatopoeic, derived from the guttural call note of the species. For the origin of the scientific name bernicla, see Barnacle Goose.
The Brant Goos...
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The Brant Goose (Branta bernicla), a goose of the genus Branta, is known in North America as Brant, Brent Goose or Black Brant. The spelling "Brant" is the original one, with "Brent" being a later folk-etymological idea that it was derived from a classical Greek waterbird name brenthos. It is in fact onomatopoeic, derived from the guttural call note of the species. For the origin of the scientific name bernicla, see Barnacle Goose.
The Brant Goose is a small goose, about 60 cm long and with a short, stubby bill. The under-tail is pure white, and the tail black and very short (the shortest of any goose).
The species is divided three subspecies:
Some DNA evidence suggests that these forms are genetically distinct; while a split into three separate species has been proposed, it is not widely accepted, with other evidence upholding their maintenance as a single species.
The body of the dark-bellied form is fairly uniformly dark grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly not significantly...
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