Birds and People
Encyclopedia
Birds and People is a ten-year long, groundbreaking collaboration between the publishers Random House
and BirdLife International
, to survey and document worldwide, the cultural significance of birds.. The Birds and People project involves an open internet forum
, for individuals worldwide to document their reflections, experiences and stories about birds. Established by the leading naturalist and author Mark Cocker
in collaboration with the eminent wildlife photographer David Tipling
and the Natural history
specialist, Jonathan Elphick
, the Birds and People project is a new experiment in natural history
and cultural anthropology
.
The resulting work is intended as a summary of the current state of birdlife worldwide. Cocker suggests that birds are the miner's canary for the natural world. However a further aim of the Birds and People project is to provide a panoramic survey of the multitudinous way in which birds enter and enrich human lives.
Loss of biodiversity
is invariably considered only in terms of its ecological and environmental consequences. Birds and People is intended to highlight how a decline in species inflicts parallel losses upon the very fabric of human cultures.
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
and BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
, to survey and document worldwide, the cultural significance of birds.. The Birds and People project involves an open internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
, for individuals worldwide to document their reflections, experiences and stories about birds. Established by the leading naturalist and author Mark Cocker
Mark Cocker
Mark Cocker is a British author and naturalist. He lives and works deep in the Norfolk countryside with his wife Mary Muir and two daughters in claxton...
in collaboration with the eminent wildlife photographer David Tipling
David Tipling
David Tipling is a professional wildlife photographer with an international reputation. His highly distinctive images have earned him many awards and accolades...
and the Natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
specialist, Jonathan Elphick
Jonathan Elphick
Jonathan Elphick is a natural history author, editor and consultant. He is an eminent ornithologist, a qualified zoologist; Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London...
, the Birds and People project is a new experiment in natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
.
"The sense of freedom evoked by birds in flight has been a source of inspiration alike to tribal communities and the world’s major civilisations. Writers, poets, artists and composers have drawn on the qualities of birds for thousands of years. Today birds often play the role of ambassador in our entire relationship with nature. For environmentalistEnvironmentalistAn environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s they are collectively the miner’s canary, their populations helping us to gauge the health of natural environments from the inner-city to the remote Arctic tundra. Yet our connections with birds far exceed any simple utilitarian value. Very often at a domestic level they are cherished for their own sake, as simple companions, as aesthetic adornments and as expression of some unspoken bond between ourselves and the rest of nature.
The resulting work is intended as a summary of the current state of birdlife worldwide. Cocker suggests that birds are the miner's canary for the natural world. However a further aim of the Birds and People project is to provide a panoramic survey of the multitudinous way in which birds enter and enrich human lives.
"The forum aims to bring together first-hand accounts from the staff and members of BirdLife Partners, and from the wider public. The organisers hope that people from every country and territory involved in BirdLife will put forward the view of their respective nation or territory"
Loss of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
is invariably considered only in terms of its ecological and environmental consequences. Birds and People is intended to highlight how a decline in species inflicts parallel losses upon the very fabric of human cultures.