Breaking News English

A bird that has been widely [revelled / reviled] in Australia for decades has [undergone / overcome] an image change. The reason is that it is helping to get [rid / riddance] of an even bigger nuisance - the invasive cane toad. The bird is the white ibis, which is [ingenious / indigenous] to Australia. It is viewed as a [best / pest] by many Australians because of its [propensity / prosperity] to scavenge food from garbage bags and trash cans. It even steals food [left / right] out of people's hands. People nickname them the "bin chicken". The word "bin" is Australian and British English [for / by] trash can. The birds are now being viewed [in / at] a positive light. They have adapted and learnt how to eat the poisonous and destructive cane toad. As [the / a] result, Australia's natural habitat is benefitting.

Cane toads were introduced to Australia [at / in] the 1930s. Sugar farmers thought they would help [in / to] eradicating a beetle that was devastating their crops. However, the toads soon began to [wreck / wreak] havoc as they rapidly spread across the countryside. They ate many insects and small animals to the [point / sharp] of extinction. Their [toxic / toxin] is strong enough to kill most [native / naive] animals that eat frogs and toads. They had no natural predators in Australia, [until / as] the white ibis learnt to rid them of their venom and gulp them [out / up] . An Australian journalist said the ibises pick the toads up and "flick them about". The stress of this makes the toads release all their [passion / poison] . The ibises then wash them in water and [giblet / gobble] them down.