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Glite Dictionary
bin chicken

bin chicken

9.9
A white bird that looks for food in city bins
  • noun
  • Australian
translation icon : ibis de basura
  • In Sydney, it's not unusual to see a bin chicken searching for scraps in a park.

Examples

  • Children watched as a curious bin chicken strutted near the picnic tables.

  • Look at that bin chicken digging through the trash!

  • The bin chicken has become a symbol of urban wildlife in many Australian cities.

  • The bin chickens are everywhere in the city.

  • In the park, a bin chicken was rummaging through the rubbish for food scraps.

  • Tourists in Australia often laugh at the sight of a bin chicken scavenging near outdoor cafes.

  • Every morning, the bin chicken visits our neighborhood, hoping to find some leftover sandwiches.

Surface Forms

bin chicken singular
bin chickens plural

Morphology

bin + chicken

The compound 'bin chicken' transparently combines 'bin' (a rubbish container) and 'chicken' (a bird), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a bird that scavenges in bins. Although it is informal and regionally Australian (referring specifically to the white ibis), the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Bin chicken comes from the sight of the white ibis poking its long beak into bins like a chicken looking for 'scraps' of food. That's why Australians call this city bird a bin chicken, meaning a bird that searches for food in rubbish bins.