Big Swoop continues to turn heads after he landed at Garema Place on Wednesday. To celebrate the arrival of Canberra's newest character, free hot chips from King O'Malley's will be handed out from noon to 2pm this Saturday.
The Canberra Times spoke to passers-by to get their opinion on the massive magpie. Despite only arriving several days ago, the sculpture of a bird eating a chip has already captured the imagination of many.
Angela Morella from Isaacs said she loved magpies but hated it when they swoop.
As a Canberra girl Ms Morella has grown up with the temperamental bird and said they were a "quirky part of the community".
Others were surprised at how realistic the giant sculpture was.
The half-tonne, 2.4-metres-high, 3.5-metres-long bird was created by Canberra artist Yanni Pounartzis. He said he hoped the work would become another character for people to greet in the city centre.
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Big Swoop even comes with his own back story, a bird who grew up in Garema Place, eating chips from long-lamented Civic takeaway Chicken Gourmet, and becoming a big strapping maggie who "reckons he owns the place".
