Brant
Branta bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758)
The brant (Branta bernicla) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It falls in the medium size class, with an adult body mass of 1.28 kg (reported values from 1.23 to 1.40 kg) and a wingspan of 1.01 m.
Quick facts about the brant
The brant is a migratory, terrestrial herbivore of grassland habitat, with a geographic range of 3,126,000 km². It lays 4 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 24 days, reaches sexual maturity at 2 years, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 1.23 kg – 1.4 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.01 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 23.8 years – 28.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 24 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the brant?
Photos of the brant
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the brant live?
Not recorded
What is the brant?
The brant or brent goose (Branta bernicla) is a small goose in the genus Branta. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra.
The Brent oilfield was named after the species.
From the Wikipedia article “Brant (goose)” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brant_%28goose%29&oldid=1383967743), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the brant sound like?
Is the brant endangered?
The brant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the brant classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusBranta
- SpeciesBranta bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Anas berniela, Anser brenta, Anser scaldii, Anser torquatus, Bernicla brenta
Other names and names in other languages (97)
- Barnacle gooseEnglish
- Black brant gooseEnglish
- Brant gooseEnglish
- Brant gooseEnglish
- Brent gooseEnglish
- Brent gooseEnglish
- Ensis (bird)English
- إوز أسودArabic
- إوز برنتArabic
- Auqueta carinegraAragonese
- gansu caraprietuAsturian
- Казарка чорнаяBelarusian
- Чорная казаркаBelarusian
- Черна гъскаBulgarian
- Garreli duBreton
- Garreli boutinBreton
- oca de collarCatalan
- Хура хурChuvash
- Хура тинӗс хурӗChuvash
- berneška tmaváCzech
- gwydd dduWelsh
- Gŵydd dduWelsh
- Gwyddau DuWelsh
- knortegåsDanish
- RingelgansGerman
- ΔαχτυλιδόχηναGreek
- kolringa anseroEsperanto
- Kolringa bernikloEsperanto
- Ganso de collarSpanish
- Barnacla carinegraSpanish
- Ganso carinegroSpanish
- mustlagleEstonian
- Branta musubeltzBasque
- غاز گردن سیاهPersian
- sepelhanhiFinnish
- HelsigásFaroese
- Bernache cravantFrench
- bernachle cravantFrench
- GroltergusNorthern Frisian
- SwartbúkrotgoesWestern Frisian
- Gé dhubhIrish
- cadhanScottish Gaelic
- Gèadh gotScottish Gaelic
- gèadh-ghotScottish Gaelic
- geòidh-ghotScottish Gaelic
- guirneanScottish Gaelic
- guirneananScottish Gaelic
- Ganso cabecinegroGalician
- Guiy dooManx
- Guiy breckManx
- ברנטהHebrew
- ברנטה כההHebrew
- örvös lúdHungarian
- MargæsIcelandic
- oca colombaccioItalian
- コクガンJapanese
- nerlernaqKalaallisut
- Хара хасkjn
- ҚарашақазKazakh
- Қара қарашақазKazakh
- 흑기러기Korean
- Goth ManowCornish
- RéngelgänsLuxembourgish
- RotgajsLimburgish
- paprastoji berniklėLithuanian
- sɬulačlut
- melngalvas zossLatvian
- Melngalvas tumšzossLatvian
- Хар алаг галууMongolian
- ringgåsNorwegian Bokmål
- rotgansDutch
- BérnachePicard
- bernikla obrożnaPolish
- Ganso-de-faces-negrasPortuguese
- ganso-de-faces-pretasPortuguese
- Ganso-de-faces-pretas-comumPortuguese
- Auca dal cularinRomansh
- Gâscă neagrăRomanian
- НемокRussian
- Казарка чернаяRussian
- Морская казаркаRussian
- Чёрная казаркаRussian
- черная казаркаRussian
- ХардырҕасYakut
- GierdočuonjáNorthern Sami
- bernikla tmaváSlovak
- Crna gosSlovenian
- grivasta gosSlovenian
- Grivasta guskaSerbian
- prutgåsSwedish
- yosun kaziTurkish
- Бичии кара касTuvinian
- гусак БрентаUkrainian
- Казарка чорнаUkrainian
- Чорна казаркаUkrainian
- RothanzeZeelandic
- 黑雁Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the brant
Other species in the same genus Branta.
Canada goose
Branta canadensis
Barnacle goose
Branta leucopsis
Red-breasted goose
Branta ruficollis
Nene
Branta sandvicensis
Cackling goose
Branta hutchinsii
CompareBrant vs Canada gooseBrant vs Barnacle gooseBrant vs Red-breasted gooseBrant vs Nene
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the brant?
The brant is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, part of the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the brant?
The brant weighs 1.28 kg as an adult, with reported values from 1.23 to 1.40 kg. Its wingspan is 1.01 m.
What does the brant eat?
The brant is a herbivore.
What habitat does the brant live in?
The brant lives in grassland habitat and has a terrestrial lifestyle. It is migratory.
Is the brant endangered?
No. The brant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the brant live?
The brant has a lifespan of 23.8 years, with values up to 28.8 years reported.
How many eggs does the brant lay?
The brant lays 4 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 24 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Brant (Branta bernicla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brant
“Brant (Branta bernicla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brant.
@misc{brant_2026,
title = {Brant (Branta bernicla)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brant},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}