These Brant Geese Branta bernicla were photographed at Barrow on the north slope of Alaska in late August/early September 2006. The default subspecies at this location is Black Brant b.b.nigricans, and all the birds I saw appeared to be that taxon (allowing for bleaching and wear) with one possible exception - the highlighed individual below:
A) This group consisted of an adult pair with three juveniles, plus two additional adults/subadults (but not juveniles); one of the extra adult-types was clearly paler and slightly grayer on the upperparts, paler on the underparts (such that the black neck sock delineation was obvious), and had weak white collar marks - on the weaker side even for bernicla/hrota; it rather resembles the form of Brant known to breed only on Melville Island (Arctic Canada) and winter in the Puget Sound region, known as Gray-bellied Brant (no subsecific name seems available?):
Another difference on this individual is that the dark belly does not extend rearwards beyond the line of the legs, as it does for nigricans:
A2) These are two other adults from the same group:
- and here the fourth adult of this group:
B) This family party (not on the same date or at the precise location as the birds above) included a ringed/banded adult:
