A striking and easily recognised small, compact goose with a bold white face, silvery-grey upperparts, and a sharply defined black neck and breast set against a white belly. It breeds mainly in Greenland, Iceland, and Spitsbergen, with smaller populations around the Baltic. In winter it favours coastal lowlands, feeding in farmland and grassy wetlands across northern Europe. In the U.K., free-flying feral birds are also found around lakes and parks. In core wintering areas it gathers in large flocks that can number in the hundreds or thousands, while elsewhere it may appear as singles or family groups among other geese. It is an uncommon but increasing visitor to northeastern North America, almost always in the company of Canada Geese.