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Barnacle
Barnacle
A small, beautifully colored, few goose.
Type: Chordates
Class: Birds
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Duck
Genus: Brent
Species: Barnacle Goose
General Settings
  • Breeds in Greenland, Iceland, northern Scandinavia, Svalbard, Lofonten Islands, South Island of Novaya Zemlya, Vaigach Island, and in recent years also on the northern coast of the Baltic Sea.
  • Length - 60-70 cm.
  • Weight - 1-2.5 kg.
  • The diet includes young shoots of terrestrial and aquatic plants, algae, and small marine invertebrates.
  • Life expectancy is up to 25 years.

They spend their whole life in the coastal zone of the North Seas.


Social behavior


They are kept in flocks. They nest colonially, fly together for wintering and back, keep together during molting, never mingling with other geese. Males usually fly away to molt earlier than females.


Reproduction


Clutch usually contains up to 5 white eggs. The female lays them 1 per day. Only female incubates for 24–26 days. The male is all this time nearby and protects the female and future offspring.


Species and people


Commercial hunting for barnacle geese is prohibited. However, the species is excellently bred in captivity. Barnacle geese have become the color of urban water bodies, where they live together with other waterfowl.


Interesting Facts


At low tide, they fly to the exposed seabed to feed.

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