The Black Brant

John Cassin (1813-1869)
Plate 10, The Black Brant
From: Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856
Chromolithograph
Paper dimensions: 10.5 x 7"
Framed dimensions: 12.75 x 21"

With text below image:
The Black Brant is a small black bird that is a subspecies of the Brant goose, which breeds in Alaska and migrates to Baja California for the winter. It has a short neck, a small head, and a plump body, with a mostly gray-brown plumage and gleaming white neck patch and underside. More than 10% of the these birds are hunted each year. Their world population fluctuates sharply from year to year, going as high as 200,000 in 1981, and as low as 100,000 in 1987.