A royal bin chook. Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca). Bin chooks are large birds endemic to extensive marshes, more than 600km north-west of here. Sydney's Taronga Zoo released a collected flock in 1971 as a "free-flying exhibit" of their spectacular flight, but they're now superbly adapted as an urban pest species and scavenger, with long legs, necks and curved bills. Droughts drove more birds to the East Coast, and they stayed, bred with the others and became a recognised pest by 1998. They nest in the crowns of the thousands of Canary Island Palm trees planted as work creation projects in Sydney during the Great Depression, have no fear of humans, and they no longer breed in their original range. The Ibis get around in packs throughout the Inner West and they stink. Human garbage is their favoured food and they find paradise in an open dumpster. They make a loud honking sound in flight. Paradoxically, a much loved bird. Paintwork by Nick Sweetman. Newtown.
