Last Friday I packed up the Troopie and headed north-west for a few hours to a gorge that I've camped at a few times in the past. At this time of year there are quite a few waterholes scattered throughout the ranges that this gorge cuts through. Right now the waterhole near the mouth of the gorge is full and fresh, later in the year the waterhole will be the last "free" water in the area.
As usual, the locals have the last laugh - and the best eyes for a bird. Just before I left Saibai I had a yarn with Saul Aniba about this most beautiful bird. He told me that he had seen one a few months before - also dead - not far from where we found this latest specimen.
"All travellers know that native accounts of the habits of animals, however strange they may seem, almost invariably turn out to be correct."
While it is easy to have a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that thousands of birds are kept in appalling conditions purely for human exploitation, profit and enjoyment, it is important to note that, as with most of the relationships between people and birds, things are a bit more complex than that.
I long ago gave up going to conferences where I'm not presenting a paper and my presentation was in the first session of the first day...
Sunday morning music? My current favourite is from a band called The Drones and the song is called “Shark Fin Blues” – it has lyrics that Bob Dylan would be proud of and music that is a bit like early Rolling Stones crossed with Neil Young crossed with…well…name any good eighties punk band. “Shark Fin Blues” – it might just change your world-view!
Chukar is the national bird of Pakistan and the name is derived from Chakhoor in Urdu. In Indian mythology, the bird is said to be in love with the moon and to look at it constantly.
Armadillos make common roadkill due to their habit of jumping to about fender height when startled - such as by an oncoming car.
The first five notes of the Pied Butchebird's call reminded me very much of "La Cucaracha"...
This is a story of the Weebill, the Emu, the Porcupine (Echidna) and some Meat Ants and how the Echidna got it's spines. The story was told by Arthur Dodd, a Yuwaalaraay speaker from the central north-west of New South wales around Walgett.
