Black brant

The black brant or Pacific brent goose (Branta bernicla nigricans) is a subspecies of the brant goose that breeds in Alaska and winters in Baja California. There are an estimated 115,000 black brant in the world and about 14,000 are taken each year by hunters. Fox predation of eggs is thought to be significant and, in 2006, the U.S. began a 5-year fox removal program. The population has been as high as 200,000 in 1981, and as low as 100,000 in 1987.[1]

For the rocket, see Black Brant (rocket).

Black brant
In Iceland

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Branta
Species:
B. bernicla
Subspecies:
B. b. nigricans
Trinomial name
Branta bernicla nigricans
(Lawrence, 1846)

References
  1. Slimbridge: Black Brant

Further reading
  • Millington, Richard (1997). Separation of Black Brant, Dark-bellied Brent Goose and Pale-bellied Brent Goose Birding World 10(1):11–15; an identification paper
  • Syroechkovski, E. E., C. Zöckler and E.Lappo (1998). Status of Brent Goose in northwest Yakutia British Birds 93(2):94–97; this paper presented claims that Black Brant and Dark-bellied Brent Goose were interbreeding extensively in the Russian Arctic
  • Sangster, George (2000). Taxonomic status of bernicla and nigricans Brent Goose British Birds 91(12):565–572; a critical re-evaluation of the claims made in the above paper by Syroechkovski et al.
  • Bloomfield, Andrew and James McCallum (2001). Changing fortunes of the Black Brant Birding World 14(2):66–68; discusses the history of Black Brants in Europe, and the history of hybridisation between Black Brant and Dark-bellied Brent Goose
  • Martin, John (2002). From the Rarities Committee's files: Unusual Brent Geese in Norfolk and Hampshire British Birds 95(3):129–136; this article discusses two Brent Geese, seen in Norfolk and Hampshire in 1998/99, which showed some but not all characters of Black Brant; photographs of both accompany the article
  • Wynn, Russell (2002). Brants – the hybrid problem Birdwatch 118:16–18; an examination of possible hybrid Black Brant × Dark-bellied Brent Goose, based on wintering birds in Hampshire
  • Lee, Derek E.; Black, Jeffrey M.; Moore, Jeffrey E.; Sedinger, Jim S. (2007). "Age-specific stopover ecology of black brant at humboldt bay, california". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 119 (1): 9–22. doi:10.1676/05-153.1. ISSN 1559-4491.
  • Black Brant Geese, an indicator of wildlife sustainability in the Georgia Basin Environment Canada. Retrieved October 10, 2006
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