Ethnoornithology on the Wall - Bird Knowledge Posters From Around the World

In many cultures birds indicate events and elements in the environment and can be harbingers of news through their role in tradition and mythology. Birds can signal where water can be found, the presence of game or other food, seasonal events, as well as danger or bad news and as indicators of ecological and social events. First developed as part of the "Cultural Signs Project" at the Charles Darwin University in Australia, a template readily adaptable to illustrate local cultural and language knowledge of birds has been developed and applied by a number of Australian Aboriginal language groups and at least one European language (Welsh). These posters are the result of collaborative work with highly-skilled Aboriginal language speakers, ornithologists and linguists and have proven to be valuable for the elicitation of other aspects of local bird knowledge, including behaviour, habitats, breeding biology and links to cultural and traditional beliefs and customs. These posters are also suitable as a language aide in schools, as a means of transmitting cultural knowledge between generations and cultures and as a support tool for local land management programs.