An art and science project about bowerbirds
A bowerbird just before being released after banding by Class A birdbander Naoko Takeuchi (photo taken at Broome Bird Observatory). Note quite boxy wide head and comparatively long neck which is also obvious in flight.
Have just discovered that Clifford and Dawn have written a new book Bowerbirds: Nature, Art and History to be published in December. It even has a whole section on the history of bowerbird discovery and bowerbirds and human culture. They have done my work for me!
A bird from the eastern states decorating with red objects
One of the early ideas I had for The System of Nature was making a blended goniometer — the instrument that measures crystal angles. This was because Linnaeus had proposed a much less successful system for the classification of the mineral kingdom. There was a goniometer in the geology museum.
Bowdler Sharpe’s lithograph of the Great Bowerbird from Sharpe, R.D. (1891-1898), Monograph of the Paradisaeidae or Birs of Paradise, and Ptilorhynchidaae or Bower-bird. Parts 1-8. London: H. Southern and Co. In Michael Everett’s book (where this is scanned from) it is reproduced this way around but most often its reproduced as a mirror image. …
These were all taken of the well-known bower at the end of Hidden Valley in Mirimar National Park in Kununurra. This bower is within 200 metres of a major town but has no red material. predominantly grey and green (why I named the project such)
And was kindly sent the coordinates of 10 bowers in the vicinity of the Broome Bird Observatory. An excellent stroke of luck!
a small digital experiment with ink and acrylic on paper superimposed onto stone of colour favoured by the bowerbird.
Is the use of red reported in Townsville great bowerbird a local or widespread trait? I have not seen it in bowers I have visited in the Kimberley. Is this because of a small sample size or poor observation, or is there no red out there? What is the relative importance of sphericity versus …
diagram from Linnean style categorisation of the tree of life
The warden at Broome passed on some tantalising information about a researcher from Queensland who was mapping bowerbirds with a GPS in the last year or so. Details are sketchy so I am now ploughing through universities in Queensland trying to find out someone who might know this mystery person. It would be great …
I have been working on a possible exhibition opportunity for a show about the 300th anniversary of Linnaeus. Researching Linnaeus I came across some references to his classing of minerals, fossils and crystals. In this case Linnaeus’s system was never adopted. I am thinking about combining it with the bowerbird’s classification of stones in …
I have organised to do the UWA PAWES course on Thursday and Friday. PAWES stands for Programme in Animal Welfare, Ethics and Science. According to the website it covers things like State and Federal legislative and regulatory requirements, The Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (7th …
I have been thinking about Tim Low’s winners and losers in The New Nature (2002) and how he devalues those animals and plants that don’t do well in disturbed ecosystems. One of the reasons why I am working with bowerbirds is that I know that they are very adaptable and tolerate disturbance. The bowerbird …
April 4th, 2007 This project runs from April 2007 to November 2008 with fieldwork taking place in the Kimberley between August and December 2007 and October 2008. The residency is based at the SymbioticA art and science laboratory at The University of Western Australia. It is funded by the Australia Council Inter Arts …