Acadia National Park

Description  ADULT Has black head and neck with white "collar," dark gray upperparts, and white vent. Breast and belly are uniformly dark gray in nigricans; dark below, but paler on flanks in bernicla and Gray-bellied; uniformly pale gray in hrota. JUVENILE Similar to respective parents, but white collar is absent until late winter, and back feathers show pale edges.

Dimensions  Length: 22-30" (56-76 cm)

Habitat  Breeds on tundra, winters in estuaries. Locally common.

Observation Tips  Black Brant migrates down Pacific coast; most winter in Baja California, Mexico. Gray-bellied Brant winter in Padilla Bay, Washington.

Range  Western Canada, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest, Southeast, Eastern Canada, New England, California, Texas, Northwest, Plains, Great Lakes, Alaska

Voice  A nasal, honking kruut.

Discussion  Small coastal goose. Three subspecies are recognized, separable by belly markings; they have reasonably distinct breeding and wintering grounds: nigricans (Black Brant) breeds in Siberia and northwestern North American Arctic and winters on Pacific coast of North America; hrota (Pale-bellied Brant) breeds in Greenland and eastern North American Arctic, and winters either on our Atlantic coast or in Europe; bernicla (Dark-bellied Brant) breeds in Russian Arctic and winters in Europe. Intermediate "Gray-bellied Brant" breeds in Canada and winters on Washington State coast. All birds feed on marine eelgrass and Sea Lettuce, sometimes also on coastal grassland.