Cape Barren Goose

(Cereopsis novaehollandiae)

Range and habitat: Islands off southern Australia, migrating to the mainland in summer. Introduced to New Zealand during the 1900s, the colonies died out in the 1940s. Recent birds are self-introduced. Protected in Australia.

Diet: Strictly a grazer of plants.

Zoo diet: Vegetation from the ponds and duck pellet mix.

Lifespan: About 20 years. They average 4-5 offspring.

General: The sexes are alike, but the female is smaller. Colour is a soft grey; the head is lighter and has a white patch on top; dark grey spots on the wing feathers; black tail; brown eyes; a light green cere which covers most of the black bill; red or pink legs and black feet.

Their call is a low grunt, and the male also produces a 'honk'.
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They can be aggressive towards each other (and humans too) in defence of their breeding territories. They probably pair for life.

Most popular breeding time is early spring. Their nest is a mound of plant matter with a hollow 7cm deep and 20cm across, thickly lined with down and slightly elevated on or beside grass tussock, sometimes in bush. Baby chicks fledge at 6 weeks. The young form large groups and migrate to the mainland from Albany (WA) to Melbourne (Vic).

The annual moult follows the breeding season.

Predators: Humans. Sealing gangs used to eat both the birds and their eggs. As they consume large quantities of grass, they may be shot by farmers. Numbers are slowly recovering and are estimated at 6000 plus in the wild.