Small, short-legged coastal goose; distinctive black head and neck with small white necklace. Some variation in belly and flank coloration across subspecies. "Black Brant," mainly of western North America and eastern Asia, is darkest, with contrasting white flanks. Breeds on tundra in the high Arctic; winters in saltmarshes, rocky coastlines, sheltered bays, and beaches. Typically uncommon to rare inland. Almost always seen in flocks, only rarely mixing with other geese species.