Red-breasted Goose

The red-breasted goose is a brightly marked goose of the genus Branta that breeds in Arctic Siberia, mainly on the Taymyr Peninsula. Most winter along the northwestern shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, with some in Azerbaijan. It measures 53 to 56 cm (21 to 22 in) in length and has a wingspan of 1.16 to 1.35 m (3.8 to 4.4 ft). In winter it feeds on grasses, leaves and seeds. It often nests close to birds of prey such as snowy owls and peregrine falcons, whose presence helps protect it from mammalian predators like the Arctic fox, and it also nests on river islands.

About the red-breasted goose

The red-breasted goose is a small, boldly patterned goose in the genus Branta, the dark "black geese," and it is closely related to the brant. It breeds in Arctic Siberia and spends the winter mainly on farmland near the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

Its scientific name, Branta ruficollis, is a neat summary of the bird. Branta comes from the Old Norse for a "burnt" or black goose, and ruficollis is Latin for "red-necked." Like every member of its genus, it is dark, sooty and set off with white, unlike the grey geese of the genus Anser. What sets this species apart is the rich red on the breast and neck, which makes a perched bird almost impossible to mistake. At a distance, though, that red tends to read as dark, and a single bird can be surprisingly hard to pick out in a flock of brant.

It is a compact goose. Adults measure 53–56 cm (21–22 in) from bill to tail, with a wingspan of 1.16–1.35 m (3.8–4.4 ft). Males are slightly heavier than females: 1.2–1.62 kg (2.6–3.6 lb) against 1.05–1.13 kg (2.3–2.5 lb).

The species has an unusual family history. It was once placed in a genus of its own, Rufibrenta, but every major authority now keeps it in Branta. Genetic studies suggest it may be one of the few known cases of hybrid speciation in birds. It appears to have arisen from ancient interbreeding between the ancestor of the brant and the ancestral white-cheeked goose at least 3.5 million years ago, and has followed its own path ever since. The bird has a long human history too: Late Pleistocene remains have been found in Bulgaria, and it appears in ancient Egyptian art, including the famous Meidum Geese painting.

Behavior and diet

The red-breasted goose's most remarkable habit is its choice of neighbors. It often builds its nest close to those of birds of prey such as snowy owls, peregrine falcons and rough-legged buzzards. The raptors drive off mammal predators like the Arctic fox, and the closer a goose nests to an eyrie, the safer it is. Attacks by the raptors on the geese themselves are extremely unusual, though possible.

Where raptors are scarce, the geese nest on river islands instead, which keeps land predators away. Given the choice, though, they appear to prefer the bird-of-prey option. Owl and buzzard numbers rise and fall every few years with lemming populations, so only river islands and peregrine falcons offer protection the geese can count on year after year.

Colonies are small, usually around four pairs, depending on nest site, food and how many raptors are nearby. While the raptors nest in the open on cliffs, the goose hides its own nest far more carefully. The female does all of the incubating, which lasts 23–25 days, and stays within about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) of the nest. The male stands guard at a distance. Eggs measure 6.3–7.4 cm (2.5–2.9 in) long and weigh 69–81 g (2.4–2.9 oz). The main threat to eggs and goslings is the Taimyr gull, which can reach nests on river islands.

In winter the geese graze on grasses, leaves and seeds. Their voice includes honking calls, and they hiss when aggressive.

Range and habitat

The breeding range is small and remote. Most red-breasted geese nest on the Taymyr Peninsula in Arctic Siberia, with smaller numbers on the Gyda and Yamal peninsulas.

In autumn they migrate southwest. Most now winter along the northwestern shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, sometimes moving on to Greece, and some winter in Azerbaijan. Stray birds turn up in Ireland and elsewhere in western Europe, sometimes mixed into flocks of brant or barnacle geese. Because the species is common in captive waterfowl collections, escaped birds are also fairly frequent outside the normal range.

The winter map has shifted within living memory. A large share of the population once wintered at Kirov Bay on the Caspian Sea, but in the 1960s vineyards and cotton replaced the cereal fields the geese fed in. Rather than collapsing, the population changed its migration and moved to Bulgaria and the Dobrogea region of eastern Romania. In the 1960s much of the population also wintered along the western Caspian coast, in Iran and in Iraq. More recently, counts of 2,000 birds in Hungary in the winter of 2014, up from a few hundred, hint that some may be wintering even farther west.

Red-breasted goose vs brant

The brant, or brent goose, is a close relative, and stray red-breasted geese in western Europe are sometimes found in its flocks. Both are small, dark Branta geese, but the details differ.

Conservation status

The red-breasted goose is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It has moved between categories: it was uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2007 because of a strong decline and a worsening outlook, then returned to Vulnerable in 2015. Part of the uncertainty is that, as in other Arctic geese, numbers fluctuate, and some birds may winter at sites nobody has counted, so the decline may have been overstated.

The core risk is concentration. More than 80 percent of the population roosts at just five sites in winter, and the feeding areas around them are threatened by changes in land use. The bird is legally protected in many countries, but hunting continues.

The species is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), which monitors its status, habitat, migration and conservation needs. From 2005 to 2008, a project funded by the Life programme improved the habitat at an important saltwater lake the geese use in Romania, and a 2009 workshop worked toward a new international species action plan.