AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST BIRDS 
3 
PLATE I 
AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST BIRDS 
(Excluding Sea-birds) 
1. Pied Goose Anseranas semipalmata Latham 
An-ser-an-as —L., anscr, goose; L., anas, anatis, duck: semi-pal-ma-ta — 
L., semi, half; L., pahnatus, webbed. 
Distribution. —Northern, eastern, and southern Australia; casual 
to south-western Australia and Tasmania; also accidental to New Guinea. 
Notes. —Also called Magpie Goose, Black-and-white Goose, and 
Semipalmated Goose. Usually in flocks, frequenting swamps, lagoons, 
mangrove flats, estuaries, lakes, and rivers. Generally seen searching for 
food in shallow water, or else perched on the branches of trees bordering 
swamps and watercourses. Food: aquatic plants and animals. 
Nest .—A flat, sometimes bulky, structure, composed of rushes and 
herbage; placed on a trampled-down tussock of reeds. Generally the 
nesting-site is near the middle of a swamp. 
Eggs. —Usually five to eight, occasionally as many as twelve or four¬ 
teen, creamy or dull yellowish-white, unless nest-stained. Breeding- 
season: varies according to the rainfall, January to March; July to 
December. 
2. Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus Temminck 
Pel-e-ca-nus —Gk, p elec an, pelican: con-spic-ill-a-tus —L., conspicillatus, 
spectacled. 
Distribution. —Australia generally, and Tasmania; also occurs in 
Amboina and New Guinea, accidental to New Zealand. 
Notes. —Usually in flocks, frequenting the estuaries of rivers, mud¬ 
flats of the coast and contiguous islands, or rivers and lakes of the inland 
areas. It is generally seen fishing in shallow water or at rest on a mud or 
sand-flat. Whereas it is thoroughly at home on the water or in the air, it 
has a waddling gait on land. Food: fish and salt- and fresh-water 
crustaceans. 
Nest. —A depression in the ground surrounded by a collection of dead 
plant-stems, grasses, and sticks, gathered as incubation proceeds. It breeds 
in colonies, the nests being about a yard apart. 
Eggs. —Two or three, dull white or dirty yellowish-white, often 
irregularly coated with lime, and usually nest-stained. Breeding-season; 
September to March (eastern Australia and Tasmania). 
