Cape Barren Goose (south-western)  |  

The Cape Barren Goose (south-western) is a large bird that, when fully grown, measures 72–85 cm in length. In captivity, males reach 6.0–7.8 kg in weight, and females 4.9–5.7 kg. The adults are grey with a cream-white patch on the top of the head, dark grey to black spots across the back and shoulders, black ends to the primary and secondary feathers, and a black tail. They also have brown irides (or irises), pink legs, grey-black to black feet, and a black bill that has a large patch of greenish-yellow. Adult males and adult females are alike, but adult females are slightly smaller than adult males and can be distinguished by their calls. Immature birds appear similar to the adults, but have a whitish-grey patch on the head, grey-brown spots on the shoulders, paler lime-green colouring on the bill, and paler purplish-grey colouring on the legs. The Cape Barren Goose (south-western) occurs singly, in pairs, and in small flocks (at least some of which are family groups).