The barnacle goose is one of our smallest geese, with a relatively small, rounded head and a very short bill. A common winter visitor to the north-west of the UK, in particular, it grazes on vegetation, such as roots, stems, leaves and seeds.
How to identify
A small goose, with a creamy-white face, a black neck, black-and-grey wings, and a white belly. Unlike the Canada goose, the barnacle goose has no brown on it at all.
Did you know?
It was once thought that barnacle geese hatched out of goose barnacles attached to ships at sea - their shells washing up on the west coast of Scotland in the autumn. This belief grew because goose barnacles have black-and-white stripes (like the geese) and the nests of barnacle geese were never seen. As a result, people even considered the barnacle goose acceptable to eat on Fridays and during Lent, despite the Church's ban on eating meat at these times, because it was not 'born of the flesh'.
