Seven Names For The Bellbird

Download or read book Seven Names for the Bellbird written by Mark Bonta and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2003-06-17 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering intimate and unforgettable descriptions of the birds and people that inhabit Honduran landscapes, Seven Names for the Bellbird showcases the deep-rooted local traditions of bird appreciation and holds them up as a model for sound management of the environment. Through his appreciative recounting of local lore, author Mark Bonta makes the interaction between culture and avifauna in Latin America a key to better understanding the practice of biodiversity protection. He makes a significant contribution to the scarce anthropological and geographical literature on human-environment relationships in Central America and also provides wonderful stories of native birds and their human observers. After a decade in the field in Honduras, Mark Bonta came to realize that, contrary to outsiders’ general beliefs, the society he observed was predisposed “to like birds, to observe birds, to weave them into folklore, and to protect them on private property.” Bonta argues that if North Americans and Europeans paid real attention to local knowledge and practice—instead of condemning them out-of-hand and imposing new beliefs and techniques—they would learn that rural cultures offer alternative ways of accommodating habitats and wildlife. Bonta uses the concept of “conservation geography”—the study of human beings and their landscapes, with natural resource conservation in the forefront—to advance his argument. He describes many cases where local individuals and their traditional knowledge of birds contribute to a de facto variety of bird conservation that precedes or parallels “official” bird protection efforts. This book is not offered as “proof” that all birds have happy futures in the Neotropics. Bonta recognizes the ravages of both human pressures and natural disasters on the birds and forests. But he shows that in many instances, birds are safe and even thrive in the presence of local people, who “celebrate them just as often as they persecute them.”

Download or read book Ethno-Ornithology of Lepshas of Sikkim written by Vanya Jha and published by Readworthy. This book was released on with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ethno-ornithology is the study of the relationship between people and birds. This book makes an in-depth study of ethno-ornithological traditions of the Lepchas—an aboriginal group of people of North-East India. Bringing to light the Lepcha bird nomenclature, it describes in detail the place of birds in Lepcha myths of origins and their importance in the day-to-day lives of the Lepcha people. Taking note of Lepcha views on the birds, it also presents behaviour of different birds as depicted in Lepcha folktales, songs and dances.

Download or read book The Wake of the Whale written by Russell Fielding and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-08 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite declining stocks worldwide and increasing health risks, artisanal whaling remains a cultural practice tied to nature’s rhythms. The Wake of the Whale presents the art, history, and challenge of whaling in the Caribbean and North Atlantic, based on a decade of award-winning fieldwork. Sightings of pilot whales in the frigid Nordic waters have drawn residents of the Faroe Islands to their boats and beaches for nearly a thousand years. Down in the tropics, around the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, artisanal whaling is a younger trade, shaped by the legacies of slavery and colonialism but no less important to the local population. Each culture, Russell Fielding shows, has developed a distinct approach to whaling that preserves key traditions while adapting to threats of scarcity, the requirements of regulation, and a growing awareness of the humane treatment of animals. Yet these strategies struggle to account for the risks of regularly eating meat contaminated with methylmercury and other environmental pollutants introduced from abroad. Fielding considers how these and other factors may change whaling cultures forever, perhaps even bringing an end to this way of life. A rare mix of scientific and social insight, The Wake of the Whale raises compelling questions about the place of cultural traditions in the contemporary world and the sacrifices we must make for sustainability. Publication of this book was supported, in part, by a grant from Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund.

Download or read book Stalking the Ghost Bird written by Michael K. Steinberg and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2008-03-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a kayaker thought he spotted an ivory-billed woodpecker in 2004, the birding community took notice. Two birders traveled to the bayou where the sighting occurred, well aware that the last confirmed sighting of an ivory-bill had taken place over sixty years ago. Both men caught a glimpse of the bird, and a team began to search the surrounding swamplands. Even after long hours of surveillance and multiple sightings, the scientists cautiously refused to disclose their rediscovery of the extinct bird until they captured it on film. At last, armed with a short video and sound clip, they published their findings in Science, triggering a frenzy of media coverage and sparking a controversy among birders and scientists who continue to disagree about whether the bird really still exists. In Stalking the Ghost Bird, Michael K. Steinberg engages the lengthy debate over the ivory-bill's status by examining the reported sightings and extensive efforts to find the rare bird in Louisiana. Louisiana has long been at the center of the ivory-bill's story. John James Audubon wrote about the bird and its habitat during his stay in St. Francisville, and scientists James Tanner and George Lowery studied the ivory-bill in Louisiana in the 1930s and 1940s. More recently, bird experts have conducted targeted searches in Louisiana. Steinberg discusses these and other scientific expeditions, and he catalogs reported ivory-bill sightings since the 1950s, using a detailed timeline that includes both dates and specific locations. Interviews with conservation officials, ornithologists, and native Louisianans illuminate the ongoing controversy and explore why the ivory-bill, more than any other bird, arouses so much attention. Steinberg meets elderly residents of the Atchafalaya Basin who saw the ivory-bill while hunting in the 1930s and even ate the bird-which they called the "forest turkey"-during hard times. He paddles into Two O'Clock Bayou with one wildlife professor and travels to a cypress-filled wildlife refuge with the director of Louisiana's Nature Conservancy. His interviews illustrate how expert opinions vary, as well as how much local non-experts know. Steinberg also explores in detail the human impact on both the ivory-bill and its bottomland forest habitat, explains how forest-management practices in the South may pose problems for an ivory-bill recovery, and outlines where future searches for the bird should take place. In this absorbing study, Steinberg turns his lifelong interest in the majestic ivory-billed woodpecker into a tale that encapsulates both the mystery and intrigue surrounding the legendary bird and our fascination with it.

Download or read book The Great Eagles written by Michael O'Neal Campbell and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-05-19 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the current literature and knowledge on the evolution and ecology of all the birds named as eagles, with particular emphasis on the larger species. It also examines the past and current relations between eagles and people, including habitat change and conservation issues. Eagle ecologies and conservation are currently seriously impacted by human activities such as industrialization, urbanization, pollution, deforestation and hunting. Some eagle species have consequently experienced extreme population changes. There are, however, some positive developments. Eagles have a strong, historic bond with human civilization, due to their status as the world’s most charismatic birds. Conservation policies have also been successful in repopulating some ecosystems with breeding eagles. Therefore, despite the complexity of this relationship, there may yet be hope for this unique species group, frequently rated as the kings of birds, and symbolic of human power, ambition, royalty, nationality, and even concepts of God. It is hoped that this book will contribute to the further understanding of these unique and fantastic birds.

Download or read book Moon Central America written by Avalon Travel and published by Moon Travel. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 5104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ebook exclusive, Moon Central America combines Moon's full-length guides to seven Central American countries into one comprehensive digital guide. Moon Central America includes the following country guides: Moon Belize Moon Costa Rica Moon El Salvador Moon Guatemala Moon Honduras & the Bay Islands Moon Nicaragua Moon Panama For each country, you'll find trustworthy advice from Moon's experienced travel authors. Professional photographer Al Argueta compiles the best places to take in Guatemala's awe-inspiring volcanoes, and adventure traveler Amy Robertson shares her list of Honduras's best places to get face-to-face with nature—from caves to cloud forests. If you're dreaming of a Central American trip of any length or mix of destinations, Moon Central America is the travel companion for you.

Download or read book Handbook of Latin American Studies, Vol. 61 written by Lawrence Boudon and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2006-04-01 with total page 846 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The one source that sets reference collections on Latin American studies apart from all other geographic areas of the world.... The Handbook has provided scholars interested in Latin America with a bibliographical source of a quality unavailable to scholars in most other branches of area studies." —Latin American Research Review Beginning with volume 41 (1979), the University of Texas Press became the publisher of the Handbook of Latin American Studies, the most comprehensive annual bibliography in the field. Compiled by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress and annotated by a corps of more than 140 specialists in various disciplines, the Handbook alternates from year to year between social sciences and humanities. The Handbook annotates works on Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the Guianas, Spanish South America, and Brazil, as well as materials covering Latin America as a whole. Most of the subsections are preceded by introductory essays that serve as biannual evaluations of the literature and research under way in specialized areas. The Handbook of Latin American Studies is the oldest continuing reference work in the field. Lawrence Boudon, of the Library of Congress Hispanic Division, has been the editor since 2000, and Katherine D. McCann has been assistant editor since 1999. The subject categories for Volume 61 are as follows: AnthropologyEconomicsGeographyGovernment and PoliticsPolitical EconomyInternational RelationsSociology