Ethnoornithology Archives - Page 11 of 12

Why birds, culture and language are relevant…and interesting

The most substantial single source of Aboriginal bird knowledge in the mainstream ornithological literature was John Gould's "Handbook to The Birds of Australia", published in 1865. I've not been able to find a replacement candidate as the primary source - and much of the information contained therein was collected by one of Gould's collectors, John Gilbert, who was taken from us too soon in 1845 while on a cross-country expedition with Ludwig Leichhardt.

By Bob Gosford|2009-08-23T18:01:34+09:30August 23rd, 2009|Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Indigenous land management, Northern development|2 Comments

Roadkill of the week – carnage on the Tanami Track

All about me lay the scattered, shattered remains - here the severed head, there a leg, stripped of flesh, next to the road another head, ten feet away a razor-taloned foot, wing and tail. Whatever had happened here had been brief and incredibly brutal.

By Bob Gosford|2017-12-20T07:02:35+09:30July 9th, 2009|Animals, Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Roadkill, The Arts|3 Comments

Art Centre of the week – Warmun, east Kimberley, WA

The main reason for my travel to Warmun was to get a better look at the work of, and make contact with several of the local artists who paint bird stories grounded in the local landscape and culture.

By Bob Gosford|2009-06-14T19:23:26+09:30June 14th, 2009|Aboriginal & Islander Art, Art, Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Some places I've been, The Arts|5 Comments

ROADKILL the book: Rule # 1 – DO NOT SWERVE!

Roadkill will come in handy when next you run into a Black Kite as it lifts, engorged with rotting flesh and on struggling wings, off a carcass on the roadside - or when you run into a wombat, a snake, a horse...you get the drift.

By Bob Gosford|2009-05-23T09:14:30+09:30May 23rd, 2009|Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Fun stuff, The Arts, The Northern Myth, Uncategorized|5 Comments

Bird of the week – Kanpanparlala – Crested Bellbird, Oreoica gutturalis

The Crested Bellbird has a very distinctive call, from which its Warlpiri name of Kanpanparlala is an onomatopoeic derivation.

By Bob Gosford|2019-08-01T10:35:48+09:30May 2nd, 2009|Animals, Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Indigenous land management, Some places I've been, The Northern Myth|5 Comments

Birds that tell people things – 4 posters of central Australian bird knowledge

This series of posters features birds that indicate ecological and social events in four Central Australian Aboriginal languages: Arrernte, Anmatyerr, Alyawarr and Kaytetye.

By Bob Gosford|2017-10-30T18:29:42+09:30April 13th, 2009|Animals, Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Some places I've been, Yuendumu|4 Comments

Bird of the week – Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura

The Turkey Vulture is a common bird in the south of the United States and has a range from southern Canada to the tip of the southern American continent.

By Bob Gosford|2019-08-01T10:35:54+09:30April 11th, 2009|Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Some places I've been, The Northern Myth|1 Comment

Society of Ethnobiology 32nd annual conference – Tulane University, New Orleans

New Orleans 4 years ago - there was no water purification equipment on site, no chemical toilets, no antibiotics and no anti-diarrheals stored for a crisis. There were no designated medical staff at work in the evacuation center.

By Bob Gosford|2009-04-09T01:19:58+09:30April 1st, 2009|Ethnoornithology, Some places I've been, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Bird of the week – Jarlajirrpi – the Australian Owlet-Nightjar

The Owlet-nightjar, known to the Warlpiri people as Jarlajirrpi, is commonly regarded as a familiar spirit of the Kurdaitcha man - part mercenary contract killer, part quasi-judicial executioner.

By Bob Gosford|2019-07-30T16:25:49+09:30February 2nd, 2009|Animals, Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, The Arts, The Northern Myth|3 Comments

Bird of the week – Luurnpa – Red Backed Kingfisher

The Luurn (Red-backed Kingfisher) Tjukurrpa is of prime importance to the groups of the western deserts region, since it represents one expression of a major initiation cycle, Tingarri, a Law bequeathed to them by Luurn and other ancestral beings.

By Bob Gosford|2019-07-30T16:32:26+09:30January 4th, 2009|Animals, Bird of the Week, Birds, Birds and people, Ethnoornithology, Indigenous land management, Religion, Some places I've been, The Arts, The Law, Yuendumu|0 Comments