Jill,
On the European mainland, songbirds are - or were? - considered a
delicacy. It will be interesting to see how the two attitudes towards
wildlife play out across Europe. For example, hunts still thrive in
France (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/428122.stm). It reminds me
of Eva Joly - swedish by origin - who is one of the investigating
magistrates in the Elf case. According to my French friend, Gill, the
French have had some difficulty in understanding her northern
rectitude.
Is it me or is the crow more "accepted" in Oz? Pace Hughes, where the
crow isn't always a good sign, against, say, the Adelaide Crows?
Thanks for the link. Listening to the "Superb Fairy Wren" - which is a
wonderful name btw - as I write. its song prickles my hair.
This reminds me of Mesiaen and his Reveil des Oiseaux, Oiseaux
Exotiques and Catalogue d'Oiseaux. I cannot sympathise with his
religion, however I like these works. An English poet, Helen
MacDonald, has experimented with bird song - Andrew Duncan on HM here
- http://www.cccp-online.org/archive/cccp11/page_16.html. Helen
MacDonald studied ornithology and is particularly interested in the
falcon - http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=1861892381. She really is
a falconer and a remarkable poet, I've also had the pleasure of
hearing her read. This is a sample of her work:
Wren. Full song. No subsong. Call of alarm, spreketh & ought
damage the eyes with its form, small body, tail pricked up & beak like a hair
trailed through briars & at a distance scored with lime scent in the nose
like scrapings from a goldsmith's cuttle .
Jenny Wrens really are the most delicate and wonderful of birds.
Roger
On 3/10/06, Jill Jones <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 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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