#0722 · 🐦 birds
Red-breasted Goose
🇳🇱 Roodhalsgans ·Branta ruficollis
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0
- 2. © Maryse · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Dmitry Boldyrev · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 4. © Игорь Поспелов · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Игорь Поспелов · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © olyapka_kmv · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © Luca Boscain · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © egorbirder · CC BY 4.0
- 9. © Игорь Поспелов · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Vyacheslav Luzanov · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The red-breasted goose ( Branta ruficollis ) is a brightly marked species of goose in the genus Branta from Eurasia. It is sometimes separated in Rufibrenta but appears close enough to the brant goose ( Branta bernicla ) to make this unnecessary, despite its distinct appearance. It is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. Branta is a Latinised form of Old Norse Brandgás , "burnt (black) goose and ruficollis is from the Latin rufus "red" and collis "necked".
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 97 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 2,497 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs up to about 1.4 kg.
- Scientifically named by Peter Simon Pallas in 1769 (257 years ago).
- Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
fact sheet
- English
- Red-breasted Goose
- Nederlands
- Roodhalsgans
- scientific name
- Branta ruficollis
- class
- Aves
- order
- Anseriformes
- family
- Anatidae
- IUCN Red List
- VU · vulnerable
- sightings in NL
- 97
- sightings in Europe
- 1,020
- sightings worldwide
- 2,497
- GBIF records in NL
- 38,129
- weight
- 1.4 kg
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1769 by Peter Simon Pallas
IUCN in Dutch: kwetsbaar. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Anatidae
#0532 📷 9Mallard
🇳🇱 Wilde Eend
Anas platyrhynchos
LC 👀 9k in NL
#0535 📷 9Greylag Goose
🇳🇱 Grauwe Gans
Anser anser
LC 👀 6.1k in NL
#0537 📷 10Egyptian Goose
🇳🇱 Nijlgans
Alopochen aegyptiaca
LC 👀 5.2k in NL
#0544 📷 9Mute Swan
🇳🇱 Knobbelzwaan
Cygnus olor
LC 👀 3.9k in NL
#0545 📷 8Tufted Duck
🇳🇱 Kuifeend
Aythya fuligula
LC 👀 3.6k in NL
#0555 📷 10Gadwall
🇳🇱 Krakeend
Mareca strepera
LC 👀 2.5k in NL
#0558 📷 10Canada Goose
🇳🇱 Grote Canadese gans
Branta canadensis
LC 👀 2.3k in NL
#0560 📷 10Common Shelduck
🇳🇱 Bergeend
Tadorna tadorna
LC 👀 2.2k in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 7102, Wikidata Q187852, GBIF 5232451, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.