Identifying the Feral Chicken

Is the bird white and has long legs?

If so, it's not a feral chicken, it is a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis).

Feral chickens may be light brown in color, but they are almost never white, and never have long legs. They are a medium-height bird, somewhere between the egret and the pigeon.

Does the bird have a pointy head?

If so, it's not a feral chicken, but a Red-Crested Cardinal (Paroarioa coronata) or perhaps a Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer).

The pointy head could be either black or red.

Does the bird make a constant, annoying "cooing" sound?

If so, it's not a feral chicken, but a Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata).

Feral chickens can make annoying sounds (see the Behavior page), but these sounds are seldom constant, and sound much more like a chicken.

Are the birds tiny and difficult to photograph?

If so, then they are Common waxbills (Estrilda astrild), a Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora) , or some other small, fast-moving bird, not feral chickens.

Feral chickens will often run away if you try to photograph them up close, but they do not run very quickly, and they often can be approached is you walk slowly and pretend to ignore them.

Are the birds aloof, and only around for a couple months and then they suddenly disappear?

If so, it's not a feral chicken, but a Pacific Golden Plover. (Pluvialis fulva)

Feral chickens never leave.

Does the bird seem intelligent (for a bird)?

If so, it's not a feral chicken, but a Common Mynah (Acridotheres tristis).

Feral chickens aren't very smart.