Red-breasted goose
Branta ruficollis (Pallas, 1769)
The red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with a representative adult body mass of 1.226 kg, and reported values range from 1.094 kg to 1.375 kg.
Quick facts about the red-breasted goose
A migratory, terrestrial herbivore, it lives in grassland and has a geographic range of 754,100 km². It lays one clutch per year of 5.5 eggs (up to 6.5), incubated for 25 days, and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 1.09 kg – 1.38 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 25 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.5 – 6.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the red-breasted goose
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the red-breasted goose live?
Not recorded
What is the red-breasted goose?
The red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) is a brightly marked species of goose in the genus Branta from Eurasia. It is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
From the Wikipedia article “Red-breasted goose” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-breasted_goose&oldid=1380578678), 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 red-breasted goose sound like?
Is the red-breasted goose endangered?
The red-breasted goose is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- 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 Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the red-breasted goose classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusBranta
- SpeciesBranta ruficollis (Pallas, 1769)
Synonyms Anser ruficollis, Rufibrenta ruficollis
Other names and names in other languages (85)
- إوز أحمر الصدرArabic
- اوزة حمراء الصدرArabic
- Auqueta royaAragonese
- Qırmızıdöş qazAzerbaijani
- Казарка чырвонаваллёваяBelarusian
- Чырвонаваллёвая казаркаBelarusian
- Червеногуша гъскаBulgarian
- লালবুক রাজহাঁসBangla
- Garreli gouzoug ruzBreton
- oca de coll roigCatalan
- Хӗрлӗ пӗсехеллӗ хурChuvash
- Хӗрлӗ пӗсехеллӗ тинӗс хурӗChuvash
- berneška rudokrkáCzech
- gwydd frongochWelsh
- Gŵydd frongochWelsh
- Gwyddau BrongochWelsh
- rødhalset gåsDanish
- RothalsgansGerman
- ΚοκκινόχηναGreek
- ΚοκκινόσιηναGreek
- ruĝbrusta anseroEsperanto
- Ruĝbrusta bernikloEsperanto
- Barnacla cuellirojaSpanish
- barnacla cuellirrojaSpanish
- punakael-lagleEstonian
- Branta lepagorriBasque
- عروس غازPersian
- punakaulahanhiFinnish
- Bernache à cou rouxFrench
- ReadboarstgoesWestern Frisian
- Gé broinnruaIrish
- Gé bhroinnruaIrish
- Guiy cleeau-yiargScottish Gaelic
- Ganso paporrubioGalician
- ברנטה אדומת חזהHebrew
- ברנטה אדומת-חזהHebrew
- crvenovrata guskaCroatian
- vörösnyakú lúdHungarian
- Սագ կարմրախածիArmenian
- FagurgæsIcelandic
- oca collorossoItalian
- アオガンJapanese
- წითელგულა ღერღეტიGeorgian
- Қызылжемсаулы қарашақазKazakh
- 분홍가슴기러기Korean
- 붉은가슴기러기Korean
- RouthalsgänsLuxembourgish
- RoedboorsgajsLimburgish
- rudakaklė berniklėLithuanian
- sarkankakla zossLatvian
- Sarkankakla tumšzossLatvian
- црвенограда гускаMacedonian
- Цвенограда гускаMacedonian
- Ухаа хар алаг галууMongolian
- roodhalsgansDutch
- raudhalsgåsNorwegian Nynorsk
- rødhalsgåsNorwegian
- bernikla rdzawoszyjaPolish
- ganso-de-peito-ruivoPortuguese
- Auca dal culiez cotschenRomansh
- Gâscă cu gât roşuRomanian
- Gâscă cu gât roșuRomanian
- gâsca cu piept roşuRomanian
- gâsca cu pieptul roşuRomanian
- Казарка краснозобаяRussian
- краснозобая казаркаRussian
- RuksesčeabečuonjáNorthern Sami
- RuksesčottačuonjáNorthern Sami
- bernikla červenokrkáSlovak
- Bernikľa červenokrkáSlovak
- Rdecevrata gosSlovenian
- rdečevrata gosSlovenian
- Pata e vogëlAlbanian
- pata e vogël laramaneAlbanian
- pata gushëkuqeAlbanian
- Guska crvenovoljkaSerbian
- Гуска црвеновољкаSerbian
- Гуска црвеновољка - Guska crvenovoljkaSerbian
- rödhalsad gåsSwedish
- sibirya kaziTurkish
- Кызыл боостаалыг бичии касTuvinian
- Казарка червоноволаUkrainian
- червоновола казаркаUkrainian
- 紅胸黑雁Chinese
- 红胸黑雁Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the red-breasted goose
Other species in the same genus Branta.
Canada goose
Branta canadensis
Barnacle goose
Branta leucopsis
Brant
Branta bernicla
Nene
Branta sandvicensis
Cackling goose
Branta hutchinsii
CompareRed-breasted goose vs Canada gooseRed-breasted goose vs Barnacle gooseRed-breasted goose vs BrantRed-breasted goose 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 red-breasted goose?
The red-breasted goose is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, classified in the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the red-breasted goose?
Its representative adult body mass is 1.226 kg, with reported values from 1.094 kg to 1.375 kg.
What does the red-breasted goose eat?
The red-breasted goose is a herbivore.
What habitat does the red-breasted goose live in?
It lives in grassland and has a terrestrial lifestyle.
Is the red-breasted goose endangered?
The red-breasted goose is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How many eggs does the red-breasted goose lay?
It lays 5.5 eggs per clutch, with up to 6.5 reported, and has one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 25 days.
Does the red-breasted goose migrate?
Yes, the red-breasted goose is migratory.
Who named the red-breasted goose?
The scientific name Branta ruficollis is attributed to (Pallas, 1769).
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). Red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-breasted-goose
“Red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-breasted-goose.
@misc{red_breasted_goose_2026,
title = {Red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-breasted-goose},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}