Australian White Ibis

The Australian White Ibis is a large wading bird with white body plumage, a bare black featherless head and neck, and a long, down-curved black bill. Black plumes trail from the rear of the wings, and the wingtips show black in flight, much like its close African relative the Sacred Ibis.

Historically a wetland species, this ibis has become famous in recent decades for adapting to city life, where it forages boldly in parks, rubbish bins, and outdoor dining areas, earning it the widely used nickname "bin chicken" in Australian popular culture.

Key field marks

• White body with bare black head and neck
• Long, down-curved black bill
• Black wingtips and trailing plume tuft over the tail
• Bold, confiding behavior around humans in urban areas

Similar species

The Straw-necked Ibis shares the bare black head but has a glossy black back rather than white, and shows straw-like feathers on the neck. The Sacred Ibis of Africa is nearly identical in appearance but does not occur in Australia.

Habitat

Originally a bird of wetlands, floodplains, and mudflats, it has increasingly colonized urban parks, golf courses, and refuse sites across much of its range.

Range and migration

It is found across eastern, northern, and southwestern Australia, extending into New Guinea and eastern Indonesia; Australian populations are largely resident with local movements tied to wetland conditions and urban food availability.

Behavior

Highly social and increasingly urbanized, Australian White Ibis forage in flocks, are bold around people, and have adapted remarkably well to city environments, sometimes to the point of nuisance behavior around food waste.

Voice

Low grunting and croaking calls, given mainly at breeding colonies or when disturbed.

Feeding

In natural habitats it probes mud and shallow water for insects and crustaceans; in urban settings it has become an opportunistic scavenger of human food scraps and rubbish.

Nesting and breeding

Colonial nester, building stick nests in trees, reeds, or on the ground on islands, often in large mixed colonies; clutches typically contain 2-3 eggs.