Goose barnacle migrate, it was thought that barnacle geese, "Branta leucopsis", developed from this crustacean, since they were never seen to nest in temperate Europe, hence the English names "goose barnacle", "barnacle goose" and the scientific name "Lepas anserifera" (, "goose"). The confusion was prompted by the similarities in colour and shape. Because they were often found on driftwood, it was assumed that the barnacles were attached to branches before they fell in the water. The archdeacon of Brecon, Gerald of Wales, made this claim in his "Topographia Hiberniae". Since barnacle geese were thought to be "neither flesh, nor born of flesh",
Canada goose which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey species of the genus "Anser". "Branta" is a Latinised form of Old Norse "Brandgás", "burnt (black) goose" and the specific epithet "canadensis" is a New Latin word meaning "from Canada". According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the first citation for the 'Canada goose' dates back to 1772. The Canada goose is also colloquially referred to as the "Canadian goose". The cackling goose was originally considered to be the same species or a subspecies of the Canada goose, but in July 2004, the American Ornithologists' Union's Committee on Classification