The Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae), sometimes also known as the pig goose, is a species of goose endemic to southern Australia. It is a distinctive large, grey bird that is mostly terrestrial and is not closely related to other extant members of the subfamily Anserinae.

Taxonomy and history

The Indigenous Jardwadjali people of western Victoria refer to this species as . The Noongar people of south-western Western Australia use the name .

The common name "Cape Barren goose" was first ascribed to this species by shipwreck survivors in 1797. When Sydney Cove was wrecked off Preservation Island, south of Cape Barren Island, the sailors who survived the wreck used the geese as one of few sources of food on the island, and named it after Cape Barren, which was the name of the south-eastern tip of the island at that time, named by Tobias Furneaux in 1773.

The Cape Barren goose was first formally described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Cereopsis N. Hollandiae. The species had been earlier reported from the Bass Strait by George Bass and Matthew Flinders in 1798, who referred to it as a "Brent or Barnacle Goose".

The taxonomic placement of this species is not yet fully resolved. It is now generally recognised as being a member of the subfamily Anserinae, however, it has also been associated with Tadorninae. When placed within Anserinae it may be considered a member of the tribe Anserini (alongside Anser and Branta) or placed in its own tribe, Cereopsini. It is the only living representative of Cereopsini, however, fossil relatives of the Cape Barren goose are known from New Zealand and South America.

  • Cereopsis novaehollandiae novaehollandiae <small>(Latham, 1801)</small> – south-eastern Australia (southern Victoria, eastern South Australia, Tasmania, and Bass Strait islands)
  • Cereopsis novaehollandiae grisea <small>(Vieillot, 1818)</small> – south-western Australia (Recherche Archipelago and adjacent coast of mainland Western Australia)

Description

Adult Cape Barren geese are large birds, typically measuring long and weighing between , with males generally being larger than females. The plumage is mostly pale grey with a slight brown tint. The head is somewhat small in proportion to the body and mostly grey in colour, save for a pale whitish patch on the forehead and crown. The bill is short, measuring in length, triangular in shape and black in colour with a prominent pale yellow-green cere covering more than half the length of the bill. Feathers on the breast and back have pale margins, while the upperwing coverts and scapular feathers each have a brownish grey spot near the tip. The flight feathers are grey with black tips, with the black extending to cover the distal half of the outer primaries, giving the appearance of a dark trailing edge to the wings when in flight. The tail feathers are black, and the legs are pink with black feet.

Males can produce a rapid, high-pitched honking call, often during takeoff or in flight. Both sexes make low, pig-like grunting sounds and hisses when alarmed. A few geese were introduced near Christchurch, New Zealand, where the population persists.

In 1968, a small number of geese were introduced to Maria Island.