Meet the noble bin chicken

‘Bin Chicken’ is the unflattering nickname given to the Australian White Ibis.

They were originally classified as Sacred Ibises, like the ones in Egypt, until someone realised they weren’t.

Australian Ibises are more like to accompany you to dumpster at the back of a restaurant than to the afterlife.

It hasn’t always been that way. As Diana Hesse pointed out to me, their original habitat was the wetlands of northern Australia.

Then they migrated to farmland, where they became known as ‘the farmer’s friend’ because of the way they aerated the soil as they dug for worms and insects.

A loss of habitat, however, forced them into urban centres where they learned instead to forage in bins.

Hence the nickname – Bin Chickens.

So the next time one starts hassling you for the last of your fries, remember, it’s not their fault.

Before you go, check out this catchy song about Ibises.

It’s pretty funny. But I should warn you that it contains language that the rest of the world may consider offensive!