Cereopsis novaehollandiae
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
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.
The Indigenous Jardwadjali people of western Victoria refer to this species as toolka. The Noongar people of south-western Western Australia use the name bibib. 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...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Phillip Island Nature Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Barren Goose sighting in Phillip Island Nature Park on a given day, based on 3,271 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 149 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–May and July–November
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Barren Goose in Phillip Island Nature Park on a given day, against about 70% in June and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Barren Goose sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Cape Barren Goose sightings, Phillip Island Nature Park ranks 2nd at about 80%. The best odds are in Maria Island National Park (Australia, about 90%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Cape Barren Goose that you can see in Phillip Island Nature Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Black Swan (about 70%), Chestnut Teal (about 40%) and Grey Teal (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Barren Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Phillip Island Nature Park (3,271 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
