Dear members,

Its been some time since the first ERSG Newsletter (to see a copy go
to the FILES section of the ERSG website) and I've received a few
requests from members for information on various topics as follows:

1. Greg Clancy is researching the Black-necked Stork
(Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) in New South Wales, Australia, as a PhD
student with the University of New England. This species is often
erroneously referred to as 'Jabiru' in Australia, however
the 'Jabiru' is a South American
stork species. I am keen to receive any information on how
indigenous
Australians and storks interacted, local names, hunting techniques
etc.

2. John Wambura of the Department of Wildlife, Faculty of Forestry
and Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture(P.O. Box
3073, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania) asks for a discussion of
concern to all ethnobiologists and notes that he finds
it "imperative to look for opinions over the subject above towards
building ethical ornithology nations. This will assist Ethno-
ornithological researchers to carry out their research in accodance
with accepted ethical standards and norms."

3. Steve Shunk of Sisters, Oregon in the USA advises that he is "in
search of information on the use of woodpeckers in the rituals
and folklore of indigenous peoples. Any and all leads would be
appreciated."

4. 'Shining Cuckoo' of New Zealand says "Kia ora" and says that
he/she is "particularly interested in Maori knowledge of
New Zealand's birds. Some information I have collected may be found
at http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/maorimyths.html."

5. L.D. van Essen of the Ground Hornbill Working Group, Endangered
Wildlife Trust (www.ewt.org.za)advises that he/she "Manages the
Ground Hornbill Working Group of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, an
NGO, in South Africa. We are specifically looking at the
conservation and conservation management of the Southern Ground
Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri in South Africa and neighbouring range
states. I'm very interested in any and all information
ethnoornithological and otherwise any of you belonging to
this group have on the birds. I would also like to know of other
people in African range states doing work and research on the
birds."

This posting elicited a very interesting response from Zlatozar Boev
of the National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of
Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria concerning a new genus and species of
ground-hornbill are described from the Late Tertiary (Late Miocene)
fluviative deposits in Hadzhidimovo (Hadzhidimovo-1,
or Hadzhidimovo-Girizite locality), in south-western Bulgaria.

6. "Two Raven" of the Salt People band of Comanche sent the
following very interesting message on the work of the Sia - Comanche
Nation Ethno-orntithological Initiative - "Nahnania
tsa, "Wahathuweekah" - Numu Ohnonuh - I Just wanted to introduce
myself and remark on how delighted I am that such a group exists.
I am Director of Sia: The Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological
Initiative.
"Sia" is our Numu(Comanche) word for feather. Although most of our
current work is dedicated to Eagles and other raptors and their
importance to Comanche life ways, we address all avian
species having cultural significance to our People, past and
present. Sia is the culmination of a life time of research, captive
propagation and behavioral studies of the living bird and archival
documentation and preservation geared to our material culture and
traditions celebrating our spiritual relationship with the "puha
huutsu" (medicine birds).
I look forward to a sharing with individuals of like interest.
Sending all best wishes from Numu sokoobi (Comanche country)."

It would be interesting to hear more about the work of the Sia - The
Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative and the contribution
this initiative has made to understanding Comanche bird knowledge.

7. Batdemberel (Dembee), a bird researcher of the Hovsgol_GEF
project in Northern Mongolia writes about this project in Mongolia,
which is located in Central Asia. "The Hovsgol Project is a first
long term ecological research site in Mongolia and started in 2002.
I have been focusing on human and live stock impact on migratory
bird habitat and rare bird conservation in our research region.
I would like to keep in touch with researchers who have some
experience related with bird conservation. Please let me know web
sites, scientific papers, any meetings and internship programs."

8. Yilma Dellelegn Abebe, Ornithologist & Nature Guide of Ornithopia
Research and Tours, Addis Ababa, Ethioipia writes "Hi all!
I am an Ethiopian and love birds. I have worked as a warden of
various national parks in Ethiopia for many years in the past. I now
work as a free-lance bird guide but also organise bird watching
tours in Ethiopia for my clients. Beyond this, I have just set up a
new wildlife research and promotion office in Addis Ababa. The
focus of my work is to carry out research on birds and other
wildlife in Ethiopia. One of my interests is the socio-cultural
knowledge of indigenous people about birds. I have just completed a
first phase of work on Ethnozoology of the Borana people in Southern
Ethiopia. This was largely a folk biological study that attempted to
investigate the traditional wildlife taxonomy of Borana people. As
EThiopia is a diverse country in terms of ecology and culture, there
is an untapped potential in terms of Ethnorinithology. I will post a
summary of my findings from Ethnozoology (with reference to
Ethnornithology in the future). Thanks."

I'm sure we all look forward to seeing a copy of Yilma's research
and other work from this 'utopian' corner of Africa.

That's all for now - I'm sure members will have some responses to
these RFIs and new requests of their own. I'll do my best to follow
up where possible.

Robert Gosford
ERSG moderator