Comedian and Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon has opened up about her deep and bizarre fascination with the Australian white ibis, often referred to as a ‘bin chicken’.
In a recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, McKinnon spoke to Fallon about her trip to Australia to film Joe vs Carole.
The two talked about the animals that you may encounter in the country, with Fallon commenting, “There are a lot of scary animals”.
However, McKinnon responded that there are a lot of what she described as ‘anodyne and beautiful little animals who don’t kill you’ – including the bin chicken.
The actress describes the ibis as “the most beautiful bird” she had ever seen in her life.
“This gigantic thing with beautiful white plumage and a long, elegant beak and like, flapping and just walking on the sidewalk,” says McKinnon as she describes the bird.
“And I was like ‘What is this majestic heron just loose I in the street that I’ve encountered?'”
You can watch the clip here:
McKinnon then explained that she learned that these birds are often referred to by locals as ‘bin chickens’ and are regarded in a similar way to pigeons.
The actress was also shocked to learn that the country has eight songs on why they hate them. While Australians may hate the bird, the ibis won Guardian Australia’s ‘Bird of the Year‘ back in 2017.
Joe vs Carole is an upcoming drama series based on the second season of the podcast Over My Dead Body by Wondery, which in turn was based on the Tiger King himself, Joe Exotic. Joe vs Carole will come to Peacock on March 3.