The Cape Barren Geese (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) - named for Cape Barren Island, where specimens were first sighted by European explorers –occur naturally in Australia. They are also known as Cereopsis Geese or Pig Geese because its call sounds like the grunt of a pig.. The Cape Barren goose has pale grey plumage with black markings near the wing tips and tail, pink legs, black feet. Its stubby triangular bill is almost concealed by a very prominent greenish-yellow cere (skin above the bill). It has rows of large dark spots in lines across the scapulars (shoulders) and wing coverts. The Cape Barren Goose is found on the south-eastern coast of Australia, the southern coast of Western Australia and in south-eastern Victoria. Cape Barren geese were once thought to be the immature phase of the native black swan. They were hunted for food almost to extinction last century but through protection and increasing feeding areas the numbers have risen rapidly. By the 1950s, numbers of the Cape Barren Goose were so low that biologists feared they may be close to extinction. Various initiatives have been taken which have increased the goose population to a level where they are no longer considered to be in danger. However they remain one of the world's rarest geese.
