Geographic Range
Magpie geese are found only in their native Australia and the neighboring island of
New Guinea, primarily in Pacific coastal areas.
- Biogeographic Regions
- australian
Habitat
Most magpie geese are found in wet grasslands, swamps, and other marshlands along
the coast and rarely stray inland.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Aquatic Biomes
- coastal
- Other Habitat Features
- riparian
Physical Description
Magpie geese are black on the head, neck, tail, and wings. The rest of the body is
white, with orange feet and legs. Magpie geese have only partially webbed feet and
the head has a fairly obvious "knob" on it. Juveniles lack this "knob" and the white
areas on their bodies are more gray. Females tend to be smaller than males. Their
body mass varies between 2 and 3 kg and their length ranges from 70 to 90 cm. The
average wingspan is 1.5 meters.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
Magpie geese sometimes breed in pairs, but they usually breed in groups of three.
Each group of three consists of a male and two females. In each trio, the two females
are usually related to each other. Magpie geese breed seasonally. Information on mate
attracting and mate guarding could not be found.
- Mating System
- polygynous
- cooperative breeder
Magpie geese clutch size is between 3 and 8 eggs. They breed seasonally at the end
of the wet season (February-June) in the floodplains that they live in. The incubation
period varies from 24-35 days and fledgling occurs after about 3 months. To feed their
young while they are still in the nests, the parents can bend nearby tall grass so
the chicks can eat the seeds. All parents share the responsibility of incubating the
eggs and caring for the young. Young are cared for by the parents until the following
wet season. Average mass at hatching is 104.2 grams. Sexual maturity occurs at approximately
2 years of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Both parents (and the second female when in trios) care for the young. They take turns
incubating the eggs as well as providing food and protection for the hatched young.
- Parental Investment
- precocial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Behavior
Magpie geese are social animals, living in flocks. These flocks travel together when
migrating between areas during the wet and dry seasons. These geese swim and wade
in the swamps and wetlands they inhabit. While raising chicks, they generally live
in groups of three, consisting of one male and two females. They may roost in wooded
areas. Their call is a loud "honk."
- Key Behaviors
- terricolous
- flies
- natatorial
- diurnal
- motile
- nomadic
- social
Home Range
During the dry season, magpie geese generally concentrate near the Mary River and
the South Alligator River. During the wet season, they may spread to other rivers
for breeding. Most movements relate to changes in food availability or breeding habitat.
Specific home range sizes are not reported.
Communication and Perception
Magpie geese communicate vocally with loud "honks." These geese may shake their wings
when feeling threatened or after antagonistic encounters.
Food Habits
Magpie geese mainly eat swamp grass seeds, blades of dry grasses, and bulbs of spike-rush.
They also eat large quantities of wild rice. These geese feed in large, noisy flocks.
Parents help their chicks eat by bending down tall grass towards the nest so the chicks
can eat the seeds from it. Although they are mainly herbivores, they incidentally
ingest occasional small invertebrates. During the dry season, magpie geese must rely
on roots and bulbs as their primary source of food. During the wet season, they can
switch to grass as their main food.
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- roots and tubers
- seeds, grains, and nuts
Predation
Eggs and hatchlings are heavily preyed on by birds of prey, dingoes, snakes, and other
small, terrestrial predators. Adult magpie geese are rarely preyed on, although they
are hunted by humans.
Ecosystem Roles
Magpie geese compete for resources with other seed-eaters in wetlands and act as prey
for predators in the same areas.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Humans hunt magpie geese for sport and for food.
- Positive Impacts
- food
- body parts are source of valuable material
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse effects of magpie geese on humans.
Conservation Status
In Australia, magpie geese are listed as "secure" (meaning "of least concern"), but
each territory also has its own status. Magpie geese are listed as "endangered" in
Victoria and South Australia, "secure" in Northern Territory, Queensland and Western
Australia, and "vulnerable" in New South Wales. They are considered "least concern"
by the IUCN red list.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Rachael Wilber (author), Northern Michigan University, Alec R. Lindsay (editor, instructor), Northern Michigan University.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- swamp
-
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
- riparian
-
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- polygynous
-
having more than one female as a mate at one time
- cooperative breeder
-
helpers provide assistance in raising young that are not their own
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- young precocial
-
young are relatively well-developed when born
- natatorial
-
specialized for swimming
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- nomadic
-
generally wanders from place to place, usually within a well-defined range.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- granivore
-
an animal that mainly eats seeds
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Frith, H., S. Davies. 1961. Ecology of the Magpie Goose, Anseranas semipalmata Latham (Anatidae). Wildlife Research , 6/2: 91-141. Accessed March 18, 2008 at http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/144/paper/CWR9610091.htm .
Kear, J. 2005. Ducks, Geese and Swans . Oxford University: Oxford. Accessed April 16, 2008 at http://books.google.com/books?id=MfrdBcKd79wC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=magpie-geese+mating&source=web&ots=RT_32goQiG&sig=EsqKK_dz81pXL2l_irEd58WRpCA&hl=en#PPP1,M1 .
Whitehead, P., K. Saalfeld. 2000. Nesting phenology of magpie geese (Anseranas semipalmata) in monsoonal northern Australia: responses to antecedent rainfall. Journal of Zoology , 251: 495-508. Accessed March 18, 2008 at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=54323 .
Whitehead, P., K. Tschimer. 1991. Patterns of Egg-Laying and Variation in Egg Size in the Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata : Evidence for Intra-specific Nest Parasitism. Emu , 91/1: 26-31. Accessed March 18, 2008 at http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/96/paper/MU9910026.htm .
2008. "Animal Bytes" (On-line). Accessed April 16, 2008 at http://www.seaworld.org/Animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/aves/anseriformes/magpie-goose.htm .
2008. "Discover Life" (On-line). Accessed April 16, 2008 at http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20o?search=Anseranatidae .
2005. "Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata) Fact sheet" (On-line). Birds in Backyards. Accessed March 18, 2008 at http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=70 .
Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW). 2005. "NSW Threatened Species Website" (On-line). Accessed April 05, 2008 at http://threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=10056&print=yes .
2008. "National Geographic" (On-line). Accessed April 05, 2008 at http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kakaducam/ .
1973. "Observations on the Horned Screamer" (On-line). Accessed April 18, 2008 at http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v086n01/p0043-p0050.html .
2007. "Parks and Wildlife Commision of the Northern Territory" (On-line pdf). Accessed April 16, 2008 at http://nreta.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/programs/pdf/management_program_for_magpie_goose.pdf .