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",
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,