Tip turkey, dumpster chook, rubbish raptor – the Australian white ibis goes by many unflattering names. But it is a true urban success story, scavenging to survive in cities across Australia as wetlands have been lost. Wildlife photographer Rick Stevens captured them in Sydney. Here: The white ibis is common across northern and eastern Australia, and growing in number in western Australia. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





That its range has increased even as its natural habitat has declined is testament to the ibis’ impressive adaptability. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





There are up to 9,000 ibises in the Sydney region – twice as many as in Australia’s inland wetlands. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Of all the species affected by river regulation in Australia, the ibis is one of the few that has changed its behaviour and moved to coastal cities. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Even as ibis numbers decline in some areas, the birds are colonising others as they adjust to urban living – and the associated fast-food diet. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Today ibises are more often seen wading through landfills than waterside vegetation, with their diet expanding to include scrap and refuse (and human vomit) along with worms, fish and frogs. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Their indiscriminate scavenging – combined with their prevalence – has inspired a number of nicknames, most commonly “bin chicken” or “tip turkey”. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Though it is a native species, the ibis is so prevalent in Australian cities that it is often considered a pest. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Populations near some tourist attractions in Sydney have been culled due to their smell and pestering of picnickers. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Last month authorities in Perth ordered a cull of 100 of the “pest birds” that they said posed a risk to planes and passengers. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





They have often been known to snatch food from people’s hands. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Concerns that ibises carry disease are said by experts to be misplaced, but that has done little to ease widespread dislike of the species. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





To some, however, the ibis has earned a cult-hero status with its bald-faced, brazen will to survive, epitomising the spirit of the “Aussie battler”. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





“It’s the very things that disgust passersby that enable ibis to survive against seemingly insurmountable odds in cities”, wrote one fan in 2015. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





The ibis was the unlikely runner-up in Guardian Australia’s bird of the year competition last year following the #TeamBinChicken social media campaign. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)





Ecologist Dr John Martin said it was a “great moment”, reflecting the Australian sense of humour: “Voting the bin chicken as our runner-up bird of the year is a bloody classic”. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)