Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) is a charismatic globally threatened species highly dependent on wetlands and farmed areas. In the last 50 years, the distribution of the breeding and wintering grounds of Red-breasted Goose has changed dramatically for unknown reasons.
This species has a small wintering range with 80-90% of the population concentrated in just five roost sites covering less than 20 000 km2 and the remainder occurring in a few other areas.
The European wintering population is estimated to be more than 27,000 individuals, but this has fluctuated wildly.
It is markedly lower than during the period 1970 -1990, but after remaining stable from 1990 to 2000, significant reductions have recently been observed. For these reasons, in 2007, Branta ruficollis was up listed to Endanger.
