Dubbo's birds

All spotted at Dubbo Zoo, though only one of them was an official exhibit.

Here's an emu.



















And an apostlebird. Wikipedia tells me it's also known as a grey jumper, a lousy jack, or a cwa bird.

And the Australian white ibis. This one's widely known as the 'bin chicken', because of its passion for hanging out in and around rubbish bins, in Sydney parks and elsewhere. Some love it, but most of us do not.

Misadventure on Macquarie Street

I don't usually feel any sympathy for Sydney's ibises. Nasty, ugly things, hanging around garbage bins and looking like they want to poke your eyes out with their  long sharp beaks.

Birds are evolved from dinosaurs, and our Australian white ibis, up close, is about as dinosaur looking as a modern bird can be.

I did feel a bit sympathetic to the one I came across in Macquarie Street the other day though. It was looking a bit upset, and prodding around at the body of a fallen chick. I figured that one of its offspring had fallen out of its nest during the earlier strong winds, and met an untimely end.

There again, maybe the nasty thing was just eyeing it up for lunch!