The Brent Goose is smaller and much darker overall than the other 'black geese' and has a shorter, thicker neck, marked in the adults by a little white smudgy half collar. From a distance they can look all dark apart from the gleaming white under-tail area. The pale-bellied form looks much cleaner and more attractive.

Winters on estuaries, grass and cereal fields.

Dark-bellied Brents occur widely on the East and South coasts of Britain, best seen at sites such as Cley on the north Norfolk Coast. Pale-bellied birds are most reliably found at Lindisfarne in Northumberland, though stragglers can turn up elsewhere. Black Brents (B.b.nigricans) occur rarely amongst flocks almost anywhere.

The most impressive flocks can be seen around the east coast of England, especially around the Wash, the Thames and on the North Norfolk coast but hundreds are also present in parts of Belgium and France and Holland, especially in Zeeland. Spectacular numbers passing back up through the Baltic in mid-May can be seen from Beijershamn, Oland (Sweden) or Sammalinen (Finland).

©BirdGuides 1999