A handsome grey, black and white goose, often pale bluish at long range with a bold black chest and pale face. Flocks fly in shapeless groups with loud, yapping barks.

While many wildfowl are very attractive birds, few geese are so immaculately turned out as the Barnacle Goose. It is a highly social species that uses traditional migration routes and wintering areas, where it may be seen in large flocks, although these are often restricted to nature reserves until after the shooting season, when they move onto nearby farmland.