The Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) 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 living members of the subfamily that contains Geese and Swans.
Its another example of an Australian bird that has gone its own way from an evolutionary point of view - and there is still some work to be done before we fully understand how this bird is related to other geese and swans. In fact some authorities consider it more closely related to shellducks. A PhD awaits I suspect.
This species has a bright greenish-yellow patch called a cere on its beak, pinkish legs and black feet -although the feet are hidden by the grass in these images. They weigh anything between 3.7 and 5.2 kg, and it will come as no surprise that they were a popular food bird in the past.
These birds may be part of the 'small number' that have recently shifted from breeding on small islands off the south coast of Australia to breeding on mainland Victoria.