Be not afraid. The isle is full of noises, / Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not. William Shakespeare, from The Tempest

Transcription

1 GIBBERBIRD In Australia, endemic species are prevalent within the biodiverse state of Queensland. Of approximately 600 bird species identified in Queensland, over 235 species are considered endemic. In Icelandic, endemi can mean notorious. As an ecological term in English, endemic denotes an indigenous species unique to a specified geographic location and not found elsewhere worldwide. GIBBERBIRD traces a foreigner s first tenuous steps into Queensland s ornithological lexicon via unorthodox categorization and linguistic sorting methods. NOTE: This poetry suite is typeset in Andale Mono, since the text requires a fixed-width font in order to uphold the sensitive vertical alignments structuring some of the poems.

2 Mostly I seek the promiscuous feeling of being alive. Across a topography of tonalities, the codex amplifies an access. Within the discrete shelter, I move freely among new sensation. Lisa Robertson, from Time in the Codex, Nilling: Prose Essays on Noise, Pornography, the Codex, Melancholy, Lucretius, Folds, Cities, and Related Aporia Be not afraid. The isle is full of noises, / Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not. William Shakespeare, from The Tempest The language we use is the language we desire. Jill Hartman, from Booty: Hurricane Jane and Typhoon Mary

3 superb lyrebird!

4 emu musk duck maned duck fernwren weebill star finch masked finch

5 stubble quail freckled duck cockatiel bourke s parrot swift parrot night parrot diamond dove bell miner chowchilla hall s babbler little crow pied monarch zebra finch long-tailed finch

6 great bowerbird!

7 northern rosella western gerygone eastern rosella eastern ground parrot eastern spinebill eastern bristlebird eastern whipbird southern emuwren

8 plains-wanderer inland dotterel brush wattlebird mountain thornbill inland thornbill sandstone shrike-thrush paradise riflebird ground cuckoo-shrike mangrove honeyeater

9 Australian brush-turkey rejoice, For we are Australian shelduck, Australian painted snipe; Australian king-parrot; Our land abounds in nature's gifts Of Australian ringneck; Australian pratincole, every stage Advance Australian crake. Australian swiftlet, let us sing, Advance Australian raven.

10 Alexandra s parrot named after Pacific gull named after Albert s lyrebird named after Lewin s honeyeater named after Macleay s honeyeater named after New Holland honeyeater named after Atherton scrubwren named after Bower s shrike-thrush named after Victoria s riflebird named

11 lovely fairywren!

12 brown cuckoo-dove, brown treecreeper, brown gerygone, brown songlark, brown thornbill, russet-tailed thrush, chestnut teal, chestnut-rumped heathwren, chestnut-rumped thornbill, chestnutcrowned babbler, chestnut-breasted quail-thrush, buff-breasted buttonquail, buff-rumped thornbill, pink-eared duck, plum-headed finch, blue bonnet, blue-winged parrot, blue-billed duck, purple-crowned lorikeet, purple-crowned fairywren, turquoise parrot, green catbird, olive whistler, orange chat, tawny frogmouth, common bronzewing, brush bronzewing, flock bronzewing, golden bowerbird, scarlet-chested parrot, scarlet myzomela, flame robin, crimson chat, crimson rosella, paleheaded rosella, rose robin, redthroat, red-chested buttonquail, red-back kingfisher, red-rumped parrot, red-kneed dotterel, red goshawk, red-browed treecreeper, red-backed fairywren, red wattlebird, red-browed pardalote, red-capped robin, red-browed firetail, red-tailed black-cockatoo, black-breasted buttonquail, black-eared cuckoo, glossy black-cockatoo, black-tailed nativehen, black-breasted kite, black-shouldered kite, black falcon, black-tailed treecreeper, black-chinned honeyeater, blackthroated finch, yellow-tailed black-cockatoo, yellow-spotted honeyeater, yellow-faced honeyeater, yellow honeyeater, yellowtufted honeyeater, yellow-throated miner, yellow chat, yellowthroated scrubwren, yellow-rumped thornbill, yellow thornbill, pale-yellow robin, yellow robin, Australian yellow white-eye, white-headed pigeon, white-throated treecreeper, white-browed treecreeper, white-winged fairywren, white-streaked honeyeater, white-gaped honeyeater, white-eared honeyeater, white-naped honeyeater, white-cheeked honeyeater, white-fronted honeyeater, white-fronted chat, white-browed scrubwren, white-browed robin, white-browed babbler, southern whiteface, banded whiteface, white-winged chough, white-breasted whistler, white-browed woodswallow, white-eared monarch, white-backed swallow, silvercrowned friarbird, grey falcon, grey grasswren, grey-headed honeyeater, grey-fronted honeyeater, grey-headed robin, grey butcherbird

13 superb fairywren!

14 little buttonquail spinifex pigeon major mitchell s cockatoo spinifex-bird little lorikeet lesser sooty-owl large-billed scrubwren regent bowerbird little woodswallow regent honeyeater

15 plumed whistling duck laughing kookaburra singing honeyeater noisy miner chiming wedgebill chirruping wedgebill dusky grasswren dusky woodswallow musk lorikeet

16 pied honeyeater painted honeyeater pied butcherbird pied currawong painted firetail varied lorikeet variegated fairywren banded lapwing striated grasswren banded honeyeater bridled honeyeater striped honeyeater striated pardalote speckled warbler striated thornbill hooded robin spotted bowerbird spotted pardalote spotted quail-thrush crested pigeon crested shrike-tit crested bellbird masked woodswallow square-tailed kite letter-winged kite tooth-billed catbird bar-breasted honeyeater scaly-breasted lorikeet slaty-backed thornbill rufous-crowned emuwren rufous-throated honeyeater spiny-cheeked honeyeater frill-necked monarch double-barred finch

17 splendid fairywren!

18 squatter pigeon partridge pigeon topknot pigeon satin bowerbird fuscous honeyeater gibberbird apostlebird restless flycatcher fairy martin rufous songlark diamond firetail gouldian finch mulga parrot budgerigar chillagoe swiftlet wonga pigeon kalkadoon grasswren carpentarian grasswren eyrean grasswren eungella honeyeater pictorella munia

19 powerful owl!