Magpie goose
Anseranas semipalmata (Latham, 1798)
The magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anseranatidae in the order Anseriformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 2.4 kg and a wingspan of 1.5 m, ranging from 1.25 to 1.8 m.
Quick facts about the magpie goose
This terrestrial, partially migratory omnivore lives in wetland habitat, and checklists record it in Australia. It lays one clutch of 8 eggs per year, incubates them for 25 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 2.07 kg – 2.77 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.25 m – 1.8 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 29.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 32 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 25 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7.4 – 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 4 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the magpie goose?
Photos of the magpie goose
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Where does the magpie goose live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The magpie goose is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the magpie goose?
The magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata) is the sole living representative species of the family Anseranatidae. This waterbird is found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. The species is not truly migratory but it sometimes travels large distances to find food and water, especially when not breeding, and is sometimes recorded outside its core range. The species was once also widespread in southern Australia but disappeared from there largely due to the drainage of the wetlands where the birds once bred. Due to their importance to Aboriginal people as a seasonal food source, as subjects of recreational hunting, and as a tourist attraction, their expansive and stable presence in northern Australia has been "ensured [by] protective management".
From the Wikipedia article “Magpie goose” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magpie_goose&oldid=1379926194), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the magpie goose endangered?
The magpie goose is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the magpie goose classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnseranatidae
- genusAnseranas
- SpeciesAnseranas semipalmata (Latham, 1798)
Synonyms Anas melanoleuca, Anas semipalmata, Anseranas melanoleuca, Anseranas semipalmata hamiltoni
Other names and names in other languages (43)
- Magpie-gooseEnglish
- وزة خرجاءArabic
- أوز الثرثارArabic
- أوز العقعقArabic
- oca garseraCatalan
- husovec strakatýCzech
- gwydd fraithWelsh
- SkadegåsDanish
- SpaltfußgansGerman
- piga anseroEsperanto
- AnseranasedojEsperanto
- Ganso urracaSpanish
- Ganso urracoSpanish
- harakhaniEstonian
- puuhanhiFinnish
- Canaroie semipalméeFrench
- SpaltpoatguozzenWestern Frisian
- אווז עורבניHebrew
- dugonoga guskaCroatian
- ujjas lúdHungarian
- Boha wasurIndonesian
- SkjógæsIcelandic
- Oca gazzaItalian
- カササギガンJapanese
- jinamurrinkgs
- ančiažąsėLithuanian
- Skeltapėdės žąsysLithuanian
- EkstergansDutch
- skjæregåsNorwegian
- bezpłetwiecPolish
- ganso-pegaPortuguese
- ganso-alvinegroPortuguese
- Ganso-da-OceaniaPortuguese
- Полулапчатый гусьRussian
- husiarka strakatáSlovak
- Svrakasta guskaSerbian
- skatgåsSwedish
- SaksağankazıTurkish
- Avustralyalı KazsıTurkish
- уракоUkrainian
- nuwalgangxdk
- 鵲鵝Chinese
- 鹊雁Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the magpie goose
Other species in the same order Anseriformes.
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Greylag goose
Anser anser
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
Eurasian teal
Anas crecca
Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
CompareMagpie goose vs MallardMagpie goose vs Greylag gooseMagpie goose vs Northern pintailMagpie goose vs Mute swan
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the magpie goose?
The magpie goose is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup. It belongs to the family Anseranatidae in the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the magpie goose?
An adult Magpie goose weighs 2.4 kg, with reported values from 2.07 to 2.77 kg.
What does the magpie goose eat?
The magpie goose is an omnivore.
Which countries is the magpie goose recorded in?
Checklists record the magpie goose in Australia, where it lives in wetland habitat.
Is the magpie goose endangered?
No. The magpie goose is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the magpie goose live?
The magpie goose has a lifespan of 29.5 years, and values up to 32 years are reported.
How many eggs does the magpie goose lay?
The magpie goose lays 8 eggs per clutch and has one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 25 days.
Who named the magpie goose?
The magpie goose, Anseranas semipalmata, was named by (Latham, 1798).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/magpie-goose
“Magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/magpie-goose.
@misc{magpie_goose_2026,
title = {Magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/magpie-goose},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}