Brant (goose) the "Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds" applies. "Branta" is a Latinised form of Old Norse "brandgás", "burnt (black) goose", and "bernicla" is the medieval Latin name for the barnacle. The brant and the similar barnacle goose were previously considered one species, formerly believed to be the same creature as the crustacean. That myth can be dated back to at least the 12th century. Gerald of Wales claimed to have seen these birds hanging down from pieces of timber, William Turner accepted the theory, and John Gerard claimed to have seen the birds emerging from their shells. The
Goose the ground is a "gaggle"; when in flight, they are called a "skein", a "team", or a "wedge"; when flying close together, they are called a "plump". The three living genera of true geese are: "Anser", grey geese, including the greylag goose, and domestic geese; "Chen", white geese (often included in "Anser"); and "Branta", black geese, such as the Canada goose. Two genera of geese are only tentatively placed in the Anserinae; they may belong to the shelducks or form a subfamily on their own: "Cereopsis", the Cape Barren goose, and "Cnemiornis", the prehistoric New Zealand goose. Either these or,