Species fact sheet by Global Register of Migratory Species - www.groms.de
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Branta ruficollis (Pallas, 1769)
Synonym:
Family: Anatidae
Order: Anseriformes
English: Red-breasted goose
French: Bernache à cou roux
Spanish: Barnacla cuelliroja
German: Rothalsgans (There's a German version of this page!)
Norwegian: Rødhalsgås (There's a Norwegian version of this page!)
Migration: intercontinental
Regions: Europe, North Asia, West & Central Asia

 map about the distribution of Branta ruficollis 

“The red-breasted goose breeds in the Siberian tundra, almost entirely within the Taymyr Peninsula. It was recommended for inclusion in CMS "as an outstanding example of a species known and admired from the days of the dynasties of ancient Egypt, ... not yet classified as endangered, [it] is threatened by hunting, disturbance and habitat destruction" (BELF 1979, p.100). Meanwhile, the species has been red-listed as "Vulnerable" (VU) since 1996 (Baillie & Groombridge 1996, Hilton-Taylor 2000), due to an alarming decline in numbers during the last few decades (50,000 birds in the 1950s, but only c. 6000 breeding pairs left in 1992). Decline in the Caspian Sea region was mainly caused by adverse land-use changes, especially conversion of cereal crops to vineyards (del Hoyo et al. 1992). 80-90% of its population is concentrated in just five roost sites, threatened by intensification of agriculture. Hunting in Bulgaria, Rumania, Ukraine and Russia leads to additional severe pressure (BirdLife International 2000). The inclusion of Branta ruficollis within the AEWA agreement as well as the implementation of an European action plan (Heredia et al. 1996) will hopefully abate these threats.”
From: Riede, K. (2001): Global Register of Migratory Species. Weltregister wandernder Tierarten. Münster (Landwirtschaftsverlag), p. 211

Further detailed information from the GROMS-database

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by Ansgar Tappenhölter