Further north, in highland Papua New Guinea , the Willie Wagtail has rather more complicated associations, according the classic account:
Majnep, Ian Saem and Bulmer, Ralph 1977. Birds of My Kalam Country. Auckland, Auckland University Press.
pp. 100, 103-4
Saem’s description…
“Konmayd
[the Willie Wagtail,
Rhipidura leucophrys]
is another bird
which no one eats because of its foods, which are worms and excrement
and insects. But it is a good hird. If when a new garden is being cleared
and planted, it comes and calls
'jt -
jt' as it dances, this means that all
the crops will flourish:
dab jt gp means a big quantity of produce
gathered together for a house-building or dance. Also if it dances and
calls by pigs, it means that it is taking care of them. It is the ghost of
one of your paternal kin that appears as this bird. For this reason one
should not kill it. Children sometimes take and eat the young, but they
should not do so….”
And Ralph Bulmer’s commentary:
“As Saem says, people do not eat the insectivorous birds of the garden
areas, partly because the three most conspicuous of them, the Willie
Wagtail, the Pied Chat, and the Shrike, perch at graves and are said to
eat maggots from the corpses. The shrike is said by some even to eat
human flesh, particularly the flesh of infants who were formerly placed
on small thatched platforms raised on a pole, in a recently abandoned
garden. Kalam did not traditionally bury their dead, but exposed
corpses, either on the ground or on a raised platform, with a substantial
fence built around, to keep out pigs, dogs, and cannibal witches. Later,
when the flesh had decomposed, the bones were cleaned and placed up
in the forks of trees, or in clumps of epiphytic fern, by streamsides or
in the forest. There was an intermediate stage in the case of important
adult men, in which the bones were placed in a small shelter or shrine,
often at the edge of the forest at the site of a former hunting camp or
cooking place of the deceased, for two or three years.
A second reason why these small insectivores of the garden zone are
not eaten is that they feed on the ground, and are believed either to eat
excrement or at least take insects which have been feeding on
excrement. Kalam use gardens which have recently gone out of
production as latrine areas, and birds feed in these. But even away from
these human latrine areas, there is often pig dung in garden fallow and
around the homesteads, and Kalam also find it disgusting that birds take
insects which are associated with this.
At the same time, two of these birds, the Willie Wagtail and the Pied
Chat, are relatively fearless of man, and challenge humans who invade
their territories and approach their nests. They are thus very appropriate
messengers and manifestations of the dead. The shrike, in contrast, is a
much shyer bird, and is not accorded any special significance.
In 1973 a deaf and dumb child from Gobnem fell while climbing to a
Willie Wagtail's nest and severely injured himself. Adam Wpc and his
wife commented that children had no business to disturb Willie
Wagtails' nests, these were good birds which looked after the pigs.”
Interestingly, no mention of nocturnal singing….
Robin Hide
From: John Harris [
Sent: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 1:42 PM
To: David Rosalky
Cc: sandra henderson; Susanne Gardiner; canberra birds
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] sleepless Willy Wagtail?
Yes indeed to the tradition about Willy Wagtails. I spent most of my life in Aboriginal communities and the Willy Wagtail is the brunt of all sorts of accusations about knowing and spreading secrets. Largely it is thought to be a gossip
and unwelcome, poor thing. I think this notion developed because they are not particularly shy of humans and the way a Willy Wagtail would perch close to a family camp and then a few minutes later the same bird would be seen twittering away at another family's
camp. Superstitions die hard in every culture - like our number 13 or lucky horseshoes or fear of black cats or bats or whatever - and plenty Aboriginal people I know will say it is just old fashioned talk but i still hear them say, "Sssshhhh the little
bird is listening'!
John
On 22/10/2013, at 1:19 PM, David Rosalky <> wrote:
I am reliably informed (by reading "Poor Fellow my Country" many years ago)
that, according to Aboriginal culture, the WW calls at night to signal the
performance of elicit unions (amongst humans, not WWs). So, Susanne and
Sandra, I will refrain from seeking more information.
David
-----Original Message-----
From: sandra henderson [mailto:shirmax2931@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 22 October 2013 12:55 PM
To: Susanne Gardiner
Cc: canberra birds
Subject: sleepless Willy Wagtail?
I've often heard them through the night. A couple of years ago during a
visit by some COG members to Oolambeyan Nat Park one sat outside the
homestead singing most of the night, every night!
The Birds in Backyards site provided by Birdlife Australia says "The Willie
Wagtail's call is well-known, often being uttered constantly throughout the
night"
sandra h
On 10/22/13, Susanne Gardiner <> wrote:
Hi all
I spent the weekend at Camp Cottermouth, the Scouts camp site. Most of
the nights on Fri and Sat a Willy Wagtail was singing. It was only
quiet for a couple of hours, but I didn't look on my watch to check the
times.
I have done plenty of camping, but never heard Willy Wagtails
throughout the night.
Could this have been because of the (very bright) full moon or because
it's spring?
(Or maybe it's absolutely normal, and Willy Wagtails and I have
coincidently never spend the nights together, the chances of which
would be very slim.)
Cheers,
Susanne
****************************************************************************
***************************
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra
Ornithologists Group.
Please ensure that emails posted to the list are less than 100 kB in size.
When subscribing or unsubscribing, please insert the word 'Subscribe' or
'Unsubscribe', as applicable, in the email's subject line.
List-Post: <>
List-Help: <>
List-Unsubscribe: <>
List-Subscribe: <>
List archive:
<http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds>
List manager: David McDonald, email
<>
*******************************************************************************************************
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra Ornithologists Group.
Please ensure that emails posted to the list are less than 100 kB in size.
When subscribing or unsubscribing, please insert the word 'Subscribe' or 'Unsubscribe', as applicable, in the email's subject line.
List-Post: <>
List-Help: <>
List-Unsubscribe: <>
List-Subscribe: <>
List archive: <http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds>
List manager: David McDonald, email <>
