Greg,

As always good to hear from you. I'll pass on (or else you'll have to
buy the book?) any relevant material on B-n Stork
- why Satin? I can't think of other references for leg sinew use, though
with such a long leg I can imagine, as with kangaroos & wallabies, that
the leg sinews would be a good length and would contract nicely once
dried out ... though they might not have the 'spring' that a kangaroo
sinew would.
I haven't seen the paper - I'll do some more research when I get to a
Qld library in a few months time (Qld seems to be a fruitful area for
ethnographic research). I think Whistling Ducks are good food wherever
they are found - BTW we saw Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at a pond in
south-easter Venezuela a few weeks ago.

Cheers, thanks and best and please keep up the good work and remember to
send any tips, however small or seemingly irrelevant and also to pass my
message on to anyone you think might be interested. I might drop in to
see you later in the year - otherwise see you in Perth.

Bob Gosford

Greg wrote:
>
> Hi Robert,
>
> I will be very interested in what you find out about Aboriginal bird
> knowledge (and use) with respect to the Black-necked (Satin) Stork.
>
>
> The only reference I found was "the leg sinews are valued for binding
> barbs to spears but it is also eaten". Stephen Garnett and Robert
> Bredl 'Birds in the vicinity of Edward River Settlement. The Sunbird
> 15 :7-40 (Nos. 1 and 2). There are also references to Wandering
> Whistling-Ducks being extensively hunted for food. There may be other
> references to such interactions. Have you seen this paper?
>
>
> Regards
>
> Greg Clancy
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Robert Gosford <mailto:robertgosford@...>
> *To:* Birding-Aus <mailto:birding-aus@...> ; COG list
> <mailto:canberrabirds@...> ; Birds Queensland
> Forum <mailto:BQ_Forum@yahoogroups.com> ; Ethnoornithology group
> <mailto:ethnoornithology@...> ; Nt Birds group
> <mailto:ntbirds@yahoogroups.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, May 27, 2007 7:57 AM
> *Subject:* [Ethnoornithology] Aboriginal Bird Knowledge book
> project - announcement
>
> Dear all,
>
> I'm tremendously excited to announce that I have recently signed with
> CSIRO Publishing to produce a book to examine, for the first time
> in any
> systematic and (hopefully) comprehensive way, the bird knowledge of
> Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The book's
> working title is /Aboriginal Bird Knowledge/ - though I hope to
> come up
> with something a little more catchy over the next year or so! I'm
> planning on getting the book to CSIRO Publishing by around June 2008.
>
> I plan to present historical information (from the oral traditions,
> anthropological and linguistic records and ornithological material
> etc,
> of which I've already gathered a lot of material), alongside
> contemporary information gathered through contacts and meetings with
> Aboriginal people and groups over the course of the next 9 months
> or so.
> I plan to do two long road-trips covering most of the country meeting
> and talking with people. I'll also do a few smaller trips to
> places that
> I can't reach easily by car. I look forward to being able to
> present a
> progress report at the AOC 2007 in Perth in December.
>
> The layout of the book will broadly follow that used by Mark
> Cocker in
> his recent encyclopeadic work on British bird knowledge (which I
> regard
> as an ethnoornithology of the British Isles and peoples) titled
> /Birds
> Britannica, /and with a couple of chapters reflecting Aboriginal
> uses of
> birds, and reflections on Birds in indigenous art and culture/. /In
> Cocker's book birds were examined by family groupings and I think
> this
> will allow for ease of reference and also a more convenient way to
> group
> knowledge from different language groups from across the country
> rather
> than just by local language groupings.
>
> I'm very aware of the issues related to the use (and potential for
> misuse) of Aboriginal traditional knowledge and have proposed several
> ways to address possible concerns:
>
> 1 - In compliance with the recently released Code of Conduct
> prepared by
> the /International Society of Ethnobiology/ (of which I am a
> member and
> thus bound by) I will seek the prior and informed consent of all
> participants in the project;
> 2 - I'll provide copies of photos, tapes and other research
> material etc
> to all participants or their nominated places of safekeeping (local
> Keeping Place, Museum, representative organisation etc);
> 3 - I'll also lodge a copy of all research material with the
> Australian
> Institute of Aboriginal and Islander Studies (AITSIS) in Canberra; and
> 4 - I will preserve individual and group copyrights and intellectual
> property and provide written credits and acknowledgments for all
> contributions.
>
> There may be other things I need to do in this regard and I'd welcome
> any suggestions or comments on this part of the process.
>
> What I'd like to ask this group for are any suggestions or
> comments you
> might have on this project that might be of assistance. I'll be doing
> extensive pre-trip contacts and an email and snail-mail mailout plus
> drawing on my contacts over the years in order to find the rights
> people
> to talk to during my research.
>
> I'd particularly welcome any suggestions along the following line:
>
> 1 - important or relevant people, communities or organisations you
> think
> I should contact;
> 2 - previous or current research, publications etc relevant to
> this area;
> 3 - examples of the application of traditional ornithological
> knowledge
> in practice;
> 4 - any local resources of relevance;
> 5 - any other research areas or approaches I might have
> overlooked; and
> 6 - anyone who might want to meet and/or provide a bed/in-kind
> support
> etc during my cross-country treks - as always it is the local
> connections that are important and any tip, suggestion or new contact
> can be important.
>
> I'll set up a blog/webpage to record comments and progress over the
> course of this research, particularly what I hope will be the great
> field trips to many parts of the country I've yet to visit, and will
> advise of the address when this is done. I also have a dedicated
> email
> address (BirdKnowledge@...
> <mailto:BirdKnowledge%40gmail.com>) to which I'd prefer email for
> this
> project sent.
>
> Thanks to you all and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
>
> Robert Gosford
> Aboriginal Bird Knowledge book project
> LPO Yuendumu
> via Alice Springs
> NT 0872
> Australia
> Email: BirdKnowledge@... <mailto:BirdKnowledge%40gmail.com>
>
>