Part Two – The lights at the end of the tunnel are … “remarkable achievements” In part one of this article we looked at some of the facts arising from the recent “discovery” of the Gouldian Finch at a Defence Housing Australia housing project in Darwin’s northern suburbs and asked the question, “So, how to [...]
Part One: The facts mate, and only the facts Novelty in itself has attractions, but when with novelty, beauty and elegance are combined, the attractions are augmented beyond measure ….John Gould, The Birds of Australia, 7 volumes, 1840 to 1848. John Gould was describing the Gouldian Finch, Amadina gouldiae, shortly after his wife and collaborator [...]
Not a lot has changed since I last looked at Elliott/Kulumindini six years ago—it is still stuck in an administrative worm hole. Services from all levels of government fall between the jurisdictional cracks often because Elliott is equidistant from the major Northern Territory service and administrative centres of Darwin and Alice Springs.
Ethnoornithology is the study of the relationship between people and birds, and in recent years the field has emerged as a valuable source of ethnobiological research. Ethnoornithology provides an opportunity to empower people of all cultures to discover, re-examine and preserve the connections between individuals, groups and cultures and the birds that they hunt, venerate and cherish.
A post that looks at our research into firespreading raptors in the Top End of Australia ... and beyond.
This is a re-post of an article first published in the February 2018 edition of Land Rights News (Northern Edition) by the Northern Land Council. Birds are closely connected to Wardaman culture. Many Wardaman dances have been adapted from bird movements and much Wardaman rock art depicts birds. […]
In a broader sense, better understanding of avian fire-spreading, both in Australia and, potentially, elsewhere, can contribute to theories about the evolution of tropical savannas and the origins of human fire use.
"Oh," I remark and after identifying Emu, Bustard and Black Kite feathers I remark that maybe he needs some colour and should be on the look out for some Red-tailed Black Cockatoo feathers.
Following are the abstracts of papers and posters presented at the recent Ethnoornithology Symposium, entitled “Birds in culture and context – Ethnoornithology in application and theory”, held during the 30th Society of Ethnobiology conference at the University of California, Berkeley from 28 to 31st March 2007. It was a great day, with a quantity and quality of papers [...]
I've been very interested in cuckoos generally—and Channel-billed Cuckoos in particular—for a few years, especially in relation to the knowledge that Aboriginal language groups here in the Northern Territory and beyond have about them. I'd love to hear any information that groups outside of the areas discussed in the post may have—feel free to drop me a line or post a comment.
