Published
16th Jul 2025
The Story Behind Bin Chicken Banter
The Bin Chicken is as Australian as Bluey. I wrote a piece to honour their place in Australian culture.
I recently released an album of brass band/ensemble pieces, including the track titled 'Bin Chicken Banter. Considering much of my audience is from outside Australia, I thought I should explain what a bin chicken is and how the piece came to be.
During my month of writing scores for small chamber ensembles around NSW, I got a request from a group which had 3 clarinets, a flute, an oboe and a bassoon. I thought a piece of music that reflected chattering birds of different species would suit the arrangement.
When thinking of a title, the very Aussie Bin Chicken came to mind. 'Bin Chicken' is the affectionate (or perhaps pejorative) term for the Australian White Ibis, that have settled across Australia's cities as a result of the drying up of their original wetland homes.
In researching this post, I came across this fascinating look into how the Australian White Ibis came to be known as the Bin Chicken. It\'s well worth watching.
I think the jaunty character of the Bin Chicken Banter suits the Ibis well, known for their shenanigans in their now-urban feeding grounds. As with other pieces of mine, I went on to create arrangements for different instrumentations with the latest version made for brass band.
Check out the Musescore scores included in the album Bonnie Brass
Check out the Musescore scores included in the chamber music album Reverie
2 Score(s) match
