- Anseranas semipalmata
Identification
- Black and white plumage
- Yellow legs
- White Plumage often Stained
- Distinct Knob on older Birds
- Hooked Bill
- Face skin Yellow or Flesh Colour
- Partly Webbed feet
Males are larger than females.
Distribution
Northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Occasionally found as far south as Victoria
Taxonomy
This species is distinctive enough to be the sole member of its genus Anseranas and family Anseranatidae.
Habitat
Rush and sedge dominated swamps, flood plains and rice crops.
Behaviour
It is fairly sedentary apart from some movement during the dry season.
Breeding
Its nest is on the ground, and a typical clutch is 5-14 eggs. Some males mate with two females.
They are colonial breeders and are gregarious outside of the breeding season when they can form large and noisy flocks of up to a few thousand individuals. The voice is a loud honking.
Diet
Includes vegetable matter.
Discussion
Unlike true geese, the moult is gradual, and there is no flightless period.
