Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Geographic areas

(BirdLife International 2016, except as noted)

• Australia
  • Mainly northern and eastern Australia
    • Northern Australian contains the major breeding and dry season refuge areas (Peter Bayliss, personal communication, 2018)
  • Southern Australia
    • Resident population west of Melbourne
    • Reintroduced to several locations in southern and southeastern Australia (Nye et al. 2007)
      • Nearly disappeared from southern regions
        • See “Historic distribution,” below
  • Reported outside usual range, especially during extended dry seasons in northern Australia (Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
    • Tasmania (Johnsgard 1965; Frith 1967; Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
• Southern New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea)

Proximity to coast

• Usually found within 300 km (186 mi) of the coast (Frith 1967; Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
• Occasionally occurs in more inland, arid regions (Frith and Davies 1961; Heron 1973; Kingsford and Porter 1993)
  • Flood events fill ephemeral lakes in central Australia (Kingsford and Porter 1993)
    • Breeding can occur if rainfall is sufficient (Frith 1967)
      • High gosling mortality when water disappears too early

Historic distribution

• Abundant in southeastern Australia prior to European settlement (Nye et al. 2007; Olsen 2010)
  • Included breeding colonies (Frith 1967)
  • Locally extinct in this region by 1920, due to:
    • Wetland damage and drainage
    • Overhunting
  • Sightings on east coast in late 1970s and early 1980s
• Historically, more abundant in northern than southeastern Australia (Nye et al. 2007)
• Records as far south as Tasmania (Nye et al. 2007)
  • No evidence of breeding in Tasmania
• Also see Frith and Davies (1961) for discussion

General

• Often live near water (Frith 1967)
  • Spend relatively little time with body in water
    • Walk on exposed ground and over vegetation
    • Swim or wade in shallow water
• Amount of suitable habitat varies greatly from year to year (Delaney et al. 2009)
  • Dependent on rainfall

Floodplains of tropical rivers

(Johnsgard 1978)

• Marshes (Wilson 1997; Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
  • Use mud habitat more often to grub for water chestnut bulbs when tall sedge vegetation dies back during dry conditions
• Open water (Wilson 1997)
  • Permanent lagoons
  • Dams
• Grasses (Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
  • Forage in higher areas of a floodplain (Frith 1967; Johnsgard 1978)
• Trees (e.g., tea tree [Melaleuca], Eucalyptus, mangroves) (Frith and Davies 1961; Marchant and Higgins 1990)
  • Used for roosting (Frith and Davies 1961)
  • Perch up high, often on slim branches (Delacour 1954)
• Agricultural habitats
  • Pasture and rice fields (Marchant and Higgins [1990] citing Gowland [1988])
  • Used when food on irrigated lands better than in degraded habitats or during drought (Wilson 1997)
    • Prefer sites close to permanent water sources

Preferred habitat

• Shallow, semi-permanent wetlands (Marchant and Higgins 1990; Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
• Areas with dense tall spike-rush (Eleocharis sphacelata), water chestnut (E. dulcis) and abundant grasses (Frith 1967)
  • Spike-rush and wild rice (Orzya) are this bird’s primary breeding habitat (Johnsgard 1978)

The Magpie Goose occurs in Australia and southern New Guinea.

Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).