# Brant (*Branta bernicla*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/brant  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.23 kg – 1.4 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.01 m |
| Lifespan | 23.8 years – 28.8 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 24 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Anseriformes
- family: Anatidae
- genus: Branta
- species: *Branta bernicla* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Anas berniela*, *Anser brenta*, *Anser scaldii*, *Anser torquatus*, *Bernicla brenta*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Brant (Branta bernicla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brant