Pacific Black Duck vs Brent Goose
Anas superciliosa compared with Branta bernicla
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Pacific Black Duck | Brent Goose |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anas superciliosa | Branta bernicla |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 50.2 cm (19.8 in) | 63.9 cm (25.2 in) |
| Weight | 1000.5 g (35.29 oz) | 1335.0 g (47.09 oz) |
| Diet | Dives for fish and aquatic invertebrates; serrated bill adapted for gripping prey; diet varies with … | Primarily herbivorous; grazes aquatic plants, grasses, and sedges; swans upend in shallow water for submerged … |
| Clutch Size | 3-15 | 1-10 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Pacific Black Duck
Freshwater and brackish wetlands across Australasia and the Pacific Islands, from freshwater lakes and rivers to coastal estuaries, mangroves, and irrigated agricultural areas. Highly adaptable to human-modified landscapes.
Brent Goose
Breeds on high-Arctic tundra; winters on estuaries, coastal mudflats, saltmarshes, and sea-grass beds along Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. One of the most strictly coastal wintering geese.
Song & Call Comparison
Pacific Black Duck
Female gives a loud, emphatic quacking series; male utters a soft quip note. Common call is a loud, repeated quack; alarm is an insistent, rattling quacking burst.
Brent Goose
A low, guttural 'rronk' or 'ronk-ronk' from flocks. Soft nasal calls in feeding groups. A subtle, understated call for a goose — less loud than most Anser geese.
Geographic Range & Migration
Pacific Black Duck
Found across sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar; locally sedentary in freshwater lakes and rivers year-round.
Brent Goose
Breeds across boreal and subarctic Canada and Alaska; winters in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America.
Conservation Status
Pacific Black Duck
Brent Goose
How to Tell Them Apart
Pacific Black Duck
Brownish-black body with pale buff feather edges giving scaly appearance. Bold pale buff supercilium and dark eye-stripe and crown stripe on paler face. Iridescent green speculum. Gray bill; orange legs. …
Brent Goose
Small; mostly black head, neck, and breast. Small white neck-patch on adults. Back dark brownish-gray; belly pale gray to white depending on subspecies. White undertail coverts. Sexes similar.
About These Birds
Pacific Black Duck
A large brown dabbling duck with a distinctive bold head pattern: dark crown, buff cheeks with two dark stripes, and a green speculum. The Mallard equivalent in Australasia. Widespread and common in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and Pacific islands. Very tolerant of human presence.
Brent Goose
A small dark-bodied goose with a black head and neck, small white neck patches, and pale grey belly. Migrates between high-Arctic breeding grounds and temperate coastal wintering areas. Feeds on eel-grass and saltmarsh vegetation in winter. Three subspecies differ in belly coloration.