Little Ravens

["Sharon Rusk" <>]

Hi! Geoffrey

 

Much as I admire your many previous snippets of information, I'm afraid your new method of naming terminology regarding the bird group gatherings as flock this and flock that, sounds exactly the same flocking thing to me.!

 

 

cheers

bob rusk 

ps   Don't dare try to say that quick !

 

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Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 11:04 AM

Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Little Ravens

Without injecting anything new into the raven discussion, I note that 'flock' is one of those words that tends to confuse rather than convey meaning.  Personally, I would like to see it confined to a socially cohesive group, but that goal is, I fear, unattainable.  For too many people it is simply a collective for a number of birds that happen to be together at a given moment, whether seagulls,  silvereyes, shearwaters or Swift Parrots.  Many birds that do not 'flock' will gather at a food source.

 

That being so, I think the 'socially cohesive' school should retreat, avoid 'flock', and use new language to describe what their 'socially cohesive'  group is, or is doing.  As with other things that are papered over by imprecise language, this could lead to new insights - in this case, exactly what the difference is between A Raven and L Raven behaviour.  If that is too difficult, you could, for the time being, use 'flocking flock' and 'non-flocking flock'.