City Birds

There are a lot of birds in Sydney, and while several of them are beautiful and well loved, most of them are the reviled urban sort. At the top of the pecking order is the Australian White Ibis, a stupid, filthy, garbage-eating bully of a bird. He's big, which is his only real advantage in the city parks, and as far as I can tell there is one Ibis per trash bin, throughout the city.

Next up you have the Australian Raven, clever, tool using birds, that hang out in packs like the bad boys they are. Their close relatives, the Jungle Crows of Tokyo, are the reigning lords of east Asian city parks. In Australia they are no less fierce. This morning I found one disemboweling giant 40cm rat (that's about the size of a desktop keyboard, if you were wondering). I'm afraid of finding myself surrounded by them in a dark alley one night.

The Indian Mynas are the next bossiest, and it's all attitude, as they're small, awkward, and disorganized. They're also the most hated bird in Sydney, as I learned on my last trip. The vehemence with which locals describe the influx of Indian Mynas their ousting of Australian Mynas has an uncomfortable edge of racism.

Silver Gulls are everywhere in the city, and while they're just as dumb as you'd imagined from Finding Nemo, they're somewhat clever as a pack. Of course, all camaraderie is off the moment one of them gets a crust of your sandwich.

Pigeons are even less organized. It's a shame that the city birds have become so inbred over the years. Their ancestors, who dispersed throughout the world as valued messengers, would no doubt be dismayed to see the utter foolishness of their progeny.

At the absolute bottom of the pecking order are the House Sparrows. It's not their fault- the're not stupid birds, nor are they dirty or unpleasant. It's just that they're so small, even a pigeon is willing to take liberties with them. In Sydney they at least seem to have a leg up- while other birds are forcefully ejected from cafes and open air restaurants, the sparrow is welcome to help with the cleanup.

Birdlist (Darling Harbor & Surrounds)