Just happen to have the following quote from Richard Dawkins' _Selfish Gene_
to hand:
Cultural transmission is not unique to man. The best non-human example that
I know has recently been described by P. F. Jenkins in the song of a bird
called the saddleback which lives on islands off New Zealand. On the island
where he worked there was a total repertoire of about nine distinct songs.
Any given male sang only one or a few of these songs. The males could be
classified into dialect groups. For example, one group of eight males with
neighbouring territories sang a particular song called the CC song. Other
dialect groups sang different songs. Sometimes the members of a dialect
group shared more than one distinct song. By comparing the songs of fathers
and sons, Jenkins showed that song patterns were not inherited genetically.
Each young male was likely to adopt songs from his territorial neighbours by
imitation, in an analogous way to human language. During most of the time
Jenkins was there, there was a fixed number of songs on the island, a kind
of 'song pool' from which each young male drew his repertoire. But
occasionally Jenkins was privileged to witness the 'invention' of a new
song, which occurred by a mistake in the imitation of an old one. He writes:
'New song forms have been shown to arise variously by change of pitch of a
note, repetition of a note, the elision of notes and the combination of
parts of other existing songs . The appearance of the new form was an abrupt
event and the product was quite stable over a number of years. Further, in a
number of cases the variant was transmitted accurately in its new form to
younger recruits so that a recognizably coherent group of like singers
developed.' Jenkins refers to the origins of new songs as 'cultural
mutations'. (203-4)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to
> poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Roger Day
> Sent: 11 March 2006 11:15
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: help--translation query
>
> I did a quick google, and there are various assertions out
> there that blackbirds *do have regional song-accents.
> Somebody must have studied it somewhere...
>
> I live next to a shopping/distribution center, and I'm always
> surprised to hear the blackbirds. At night, the bright lights
> confuse them and I can hear their song at midnight. I
> sometimes worry as they swoop across the road in front of
> cars - I think it's a feint to divert strangers from their
> nests. My best sighting of a blackbird was in York cathedral.
> We didn't go in but we wandered the ruins. In a walled grassy
> enclosure with an ancient tree providing shade, a single
> blackbird hopped, and cocked its eye at the intruders to its domain.
> It seemed medeival somehow.
>
> I used to think Starlings were a nuisance. I now have a room
> on the corner of a house and, in the morning, I can hear them
> chittering to each other, and scrabbling in the eves. It
> seems reassuring.
>
> Roger
>
> On 3/10/06, Joanna Boulter <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > To my mind, there's no bird to beat the English blackbird, for song
> > and handsome looks; Shakespeare's "ousel-cock so black of
> hue / With
> > orange tawny bill". But it's a strange thing -- I've lived
> in various
> > parts of this country, from the south-west to the
> north-east where we
> > are now, and I'll swear those blackbirds make regional
> variations in their song.
> >
> > By the way, there's a flock of feral macaws up in the dales
> about 30
> > miles from here. I saw them once, and it seemed a huge and magical
> > privilege, like being visited by strangers from another planet.
> >
> > joanna
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jill Jones" <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 10:56 PM
> > Subject: Re: help--translation query
> >
> >
> > > Hi Mark,
> > >
> > > Yes, I guess they are noisy. Never thought of it but now
> I recall,
> > > European cities seem so much quieter on the bird front.
> > >
> > > Last night I came home as a whole pile (flock?) of parrots - most
> > > likely lorrikeets - were squawking in the tree across the
> road, just on dusk.
> > >
> > > In our garden, we had magpies nesting in the jacaranda one year,
> > > until they found out that it lost its leaves and therefore their
> > > cover, so they went back to the more traditional and
> evergreen gum
> > > tree two doors up. But they visit us all the time (and
> shit on our
> > > paving). We also get nearly everyday or seasonally, said parrots
> > > (lorrikeets and rosellas), currawongs, new holland honeyeaters,
> > > welcome swallows, silvereyes (such lovely little birds), the
> > > australian ravens we call crows. Even a sacred kingfisher once.
> > > Also, unfortunately, all the pesky exotics such as
> sparrows, starlings, pigeons and noisy mynahs.
> > >
> > > Some of the above, and others, are mentioned on this
> site, including
> > > some of their noisy calls: http://www.anbg.gov.au/birds/birds.html
> > >
> > > So, can get real noisy.
> > >
> > > Is it 'ruffle' their feathers?
> > >
> > > And 'having a lend'? To have someone on, take the piss.
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Jill
> > >
> > > On Saturday, March 11, 2006, at 01:37 AM, Jill Jones wrote:
> > >
> > >> Hi Mark,
> > >>
> > >> First of all, what's a grackle? I assume you're not
> having a lend.
> > >>
> > >> But I would be interested in the correct name for the
> term as well.
> > >> There does seem to be a thing about poets and birds.
> > >>
> > >> I'm a lazy bird watcher myself and rarely know the
> correct word for
> > >> ornithological things. But I notice them all the same. Tonight,
> > >> there was a real racket across the street as I was
> coming home, ooh, about 7ish.
> > >> Most likely parrots of some kind. I couldn't see them but they
> > >> were, obviously, apparent.
> > >>
> > >> Cheers,
> > >> Jill
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Saturday, March 11, 2006, at 01:06 AM, Mark Weiss wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> OK, I need some feedback from birdwatchers. In the winter birds
> > >>> puff out their feathers fro warmth. Is there/are there
> a term/terms for this?
> > >>> From the scientific to the colloquial.
> > >>>
> > >>> I realize this question is likely to inspire some
> general levity,
> > >>> not to say tom-foolery (origin?), which I'd appreciate
> as much as
> > >>> the next guy/gal, but I really could use the help on this one.
> > >>>
> > >>> A tribeof grackles has taken up residence in the park
> outside my
> > >>> window--maybe 25 males. Quiet so far--probably waiting for a
> > >>> critical mass to build up. Oh lucky me.
> > >>>
> > >>> Mark
> > >>
> > >> _______________________________________________________
> > >> Jill Jones
> > >>
> > >> Latest books:
> > >> Broken/Open. Available from Salt Publishing
> > >> http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/1844710416.htm
> > >>
> > >> Where the Sea Burns. Wagtail Series. Picaro Press PO Box 853,
> > >> Warners Bay, NSW, 2282. [log in to unmask]
> > >>
> > >> Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
> > >> http://www.wildhoneypress.com
> > >>
> > >> web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
> > >> blog1: Ruby Street http://rubystreet.blogspot.com/
> > >> blog2: Latitudes http://itudes.blogspot.com/
> > >>
> > >>
> > > _______________________________________________________
> > > Jill Jones
> > >
> > > Latest books:
> > > Broken/Open. Available from Salt Publishing
> > > http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/1844710416.htm
> > >
> > > Where the Sea Burns. Wagtail Series. Picaro Press PO Box 853,
> > > Warners Bay, NSW, 2282. [log in to unmask]
> > >
> > > Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
> > > http://www.wildhoneypress.com
> > >
> > > web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
> > > blog1: Ruby Street http://rubystreet.blogspot.com/
> > > blog2: Latitudes http://itudes.blogspot.com/
> >
>
>
> --
> http://www.badstep.net/
> http://www.cb1poetry.org.uk/
>
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