Barnacle goose
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A black and white species of bird within the family Anatidae from the northern hemisphere, Branta leucopsis.
- 2 European goose smaller than the brant; breeds in the far north wordnet
Etymology
Because this goose nests in the far north, Europeans never saw its chicks, and invented a theory that the goose barnacle is the larval form of the barnacle goose.