These are found in coastal northern Australia and in southern New Guinea, they are plentiful across their range, although this has been significantly reduced since European settlement when it extended as far south as the Coorong and the wetlands of the South-east of South Australia and Western Victoria. It is a unique member of the order Anseriformes in a family and genus distinct from all other living waterfowl and differs from most waterfowl in having strongly clawed toes that are only partly webbed.
They are found in wetlands, floodplains and wet grasslands and here the easiest place to see them are the wetlands around Lake Mary, they are specialized feeders with sedges, grasses and seeds forming the bulk of the diet and they can form large and noisy flocks of up to a few thousand individuals.
Pairs of geese mate for life but a male may have two females, the nest consists of a simple unlined cup placed on a floating platform of trampled reeds in a secluded place close to wetlands. Two females may occasionally use the same nest to lay the large, oval, eggs, the adults share incubation and care for the young.