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Project Noah Nature School
Cereopsis novaehollandiae
This is an exciting Spotting for me! This Cape Barren goose whose distribution is normally restricted to Southern Australia was spotted at Clifton Beach in Far North Queensland. We saw it bobbing along on the waves (Pic 4), getting carried by the wind and current. As it got close to the shore it flew the 10m to the shore. It just stood for a while and then preened itself. It was a large bird to about 80cm tall. It had amazing red-pink legs and a pale lime green cere. It wasn't perturbed by passers by.
Clifton Beach, Nth QLD
Update: I spoke to 2 workers from the Cairns Tropical Zoo. The goose was on holidays from the zoo, but has now found its way back. That's why it was so used to people around it.
Spotted on Apr 25, 2013
Submitted on Apr 25, 2013
5 Comments
Looks like it has tow heads! :-D
Thank you for the information Lori. I learnt something new today! Cheers Andrea!
Hi Andrea. These are beautiful birds and I'm glad you got a chance to see one. The light green portion above the bill is called "cere" and is found on both mature and juvenile birds alike. Your spotting is a mature bird, as evidenced by the uniformly grey plumage. Younger birds have brownish backs. I'm surprised to see this one on the water, as they are grass grazers and rarely swim.
Here's a spotting of mine, which features their adorable goslings. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/140...
Thank you Rieko! It was very exciting :-)
Beautiful spotting.