Kristeen Baggetto, Perfectly Preened (ANIMALS 2023)

Although (sadly) a very much maligned Australian bird species, I think the Australian White Ibis is truly an incredible looking bird. Not only that, it’s also a very intelligent bird. With its natural habitat disappearing, thanks to more and more development, it has had no choice but to adapt to living and surviving in and around our towns and cities, and has done so extremely well. I photographed this particular bird one morning at my local Botanic Gardens in Bundaberg, Queensland, giving itself a very thorough preening. Each time I share a photograph of one of these birds, I really do hope that it helps people to see them differently; to see how unique and amazing they are, rather than just a scavenging “bin chicken”, a term I dislike immensely.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.