Australian white ibis

This article is about the Australian white ibis. For the New World bird, see American white ibis.

Australian white ibis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Threskiornis
Species:
T. molucca
Binomial name
Threskiornis molucca
(Cuvier, 1829)
Subspecies
Synonyms

Threskiornis moluccus

The Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill, and black legs. While it is closely related to the African sacred ibis, the Australian white ibis is a native Australian bird. Contrary to urban myth, it is not a feral species introduced to Australia by people, and it does not come from Egypt.[2]

Historically rare in urban areas, the Australian white ibis has established in urban areas of the east coast in increasing numbers since the late 1970s; it is now commonly seen in Wollongong, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Townsville. In recent years, the bird has also become increasingly common in Perth, Western Australia, and surrounding towns in south-western Australia.[3] Populations have disappeared from natural breeding areas such as the Macquarie Marshes in northern New South Wales. Management plans have been introduced to control problematic urban populations in Sydney.[4][5]

Due to its increasing presence in the urban environment and its habit of rummaging in garbage, the species has acquired a variety of colloquial names such as "tip turkey"[6] and "bin chicken",[7] and in recent years has become an icon of Australia's popular culture, regarded with glee by some and passionate revulsion by others.[8][9]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Threskiornis moluccus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22697519A93618773. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697519A93618773.en.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Australian White Ibis Archived 16 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine City of Canterbury Bankstown. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. ^ Management Plan for Australian White Ibis in the Bankstown Local Government Area, 2012[permanent dead link] Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference abc1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ ‘Bin chicken’ set to be Australia’s 2017 bird of the year news.com.au 22 November 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  8. ^ Allatson, P and Connor, A. The rise of the ibis: How the 'bin chicken' became a totem for modern Australia ABC News, 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  9. ^ Stevens, Rick (9 April 2018). "Bin chickens: the grotesque glory of the urban ibis – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2022.