Australian white ibis
Scientific name: Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829)
Overview
The Australian white ibis, commonly known as the bin chicken, is a wading bird of the 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Australian white ibis”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023.1.
Size and lifespan
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| Birth weight | 69 g |
| Adult weight (male) | 2.01 kg |
| Adult weight (female) | 1.61 kg |
Source: Wikidata, citing “AVIAN BODY SIZES IN RELATION TO FECUNDITY, MATING SYSTEM, DISPLAY BEHAVIOR, AND RESOURCE SHARING”, article by Terje Lislevand et al published June 2007 in Ecology.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Australia; Southern Asia.
Common names
Names in other languages (11)
- Arabic
- أبو منجل أبيض أسترالي
- Chinese
- 澳洲白鹮
- French
- Ibis à cou noir
- German
- Australibis, Australischer Ibis, Molukkenibis
- Indonesian
- ibis australia
- Japanese
- オーストラリアクロトキ
- Persian
- اکراس سفید استرالیا
- Portuguese
- íbis-branca-australiana, Íbis-branco-australiano
- Russian
- молуккский ибис
- Spanish
- Ibis moluqueño
- Turkish
- Threskiornis moluccus
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, measurements, names in other languages. Q667540, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Australian white ibis”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026