Words and Birds
Ever wonder where bird names come from? And what they mean?
Harry over at his blog called Heraclitean Fire had fun with the dictionary recently. He discovered some interesting things about words and birds. He tells about his discoveries in a post called Birding the Dictionary.
Related articles:
- Glossary of bird words – learn more about birds and their words here.
Ethics of bird watching
A recent series of posts on the birding forum Birding-Aus discussed the ethics of birding. This thread had a particular emphasis on the practice of some birders of playing recordings of the calls of hard to see birds. This method is used in an attempt to attract the bird to come closer. The theory is that the bird will think this is an interloper on his territory or that it will come to investigate out of curiosity.
Some birders are strongly in favour of this practice and use it often, others use the method sparingly while others are strongly opposed to it. I think that it is cheating, and prefer to use my birding skills to track down the elusive bird. The only concession I make is that I will occasionally use a method called pishing, in which one makes hissing or kissing noises with your mouth. The way I do it is to suck air through my teeth against a tightened lip – it’s actually very easy to do and quite hard to describe in words.
As a result of this discussion, several people posted their bird club’s code of ethics. I thought it was so good I have included it below.
- The welfare of birds must come first.
- Habitat must be protected.
- Nests, eggs and the immediate vicinity must not be disturbed.
- Keep disturbance of birds and their habitat to a minimum.
- Abide by the bird protection laws at all times.
- Keep your pets at home.
- When you find a rare bird, think carefully about whom you should tell.
- Make your records available to the local bird recorder.
- Respect the rights of land owners.
- Respect the rights of other people in the countryside.
- Be an ambassador for birdwatchers generally. We do not want to be unwelcome in the future
This is a simple list of easy to follow instructions with the welfare of the birds in mind.
Thanks to Alan for posting this on Birding-Aus and the Hunter Bird Observers Club. It’s their code and similar codes have been adopted by other clubs in NSW.
Todays’ photo is of a Yellow Rumped Thornbill, a species that responds well to pishing.
Yellow Rumped Thornbill
To feather one’s nest
On my writing blog I have been writing about idioms. One recently posted article looked at an idiom with a birding theme.
This Week’s Idiom
To feather one’s nest
or
To feather one’s own nest
Origin
This idiom obviously comes from the practice of many birds to gather feathers to add to their nest in order to make it more comfortable for themselves while incubating the eggs and then warmer for the chicks once hatched. It has been suggested that some birds actually pluck their own feathers to add to the nest. I’ve never witnessed this in thirty years of birding but it could well be the case. More likely is the gathering of feathers left lying around after a bird dies, or is killed, or from the empty nests of other birds.
Meanings
The applied use of this idiom in common speech and in writing implies that the person being spoken of is gathering financial gain for himself at the expense of others, usually in a dishonest way. So to say that “Peter was feathering his own nest at the company’s expense†is to say that he was perhaps embezzling company funds.
It could also be applied to the misplaced motivation for an action. For example, “Susan only wanted to become a member of parliament to feather her own nest.â€Â
Birding Aus newsgroup
I have been a contributor to the Australian birding newsgroup Birding-Aus for about nine years now. Over that time I have sent many hundreds of messages for other birders in Australia to read. Some of these have created further comments and feedback – even controversy at times – from other birders.
“Birding-Aus is an information centre for everyone with an interest in Australia’s wild birds, their conservation and behaviour.”
Quoted from the home page.
This is an excellent way of learning more about Australian birds, where they are being seen, news of rare sightings or unusual behaviour. It is also very good for planning places to visit on holidays where one will see certain birds.
From time to time there are even debates about various issues relating to birds and their conservation. Most posts to this newsgroup are archived. These archives are an excellent resource in finding out more about birds and good birding spots. Just follow the links to find the archives.
There is a links section listing links to many websites about birds here in Australia and overseas. Anyone can join the mailing list and receive all of the messages posted each day. Members can also send messages to the group.
Link:
- Birding-Aus home page.
Sacred Kingfisher
My Most Popular Bird Photos
The family photo gallery has been up and running now for about four months now and we are getting plenty of views (over 90,000 and counting). During that time some of the photos have proved to be very popular.
For those who may have missed these photos, or who are new visitors to this blog, here are the three most viewed bird photos:
1. Mallee Ringneck 361 views
Mallee Ringneck Parrot
2. Eastern Rosella 323 views
Eastern Rosella
3. Noisy Miner 321 views
Noisy Miner at Swanport Reserve