Dear All,
For years I have wandered in my wonderings to the subject of why do we
call "foreign" birds that wander into Australian Territories
"Vagrant"? These species almost invariably have been wind or ship
assisted in their arrival in Australia. Vagrant, I associate with
dishevelled men wearing gabardine coats and an aroma of tup'penny
dark, having had many clients of their ilk. These clients had just
been given the title of "Vagrant", by the courts under the Vagrancy Act.
The behaviour of the birds we call "Vagrant" are not vagrant, they are
not wandering from place to place, they have arrived here not by their
own volition, but by chance. If any birds earn the title, it is those
such as the Albatross and Penguins.
Perhaps we should call these accidental arrivals just that,
Accidental. Visitor is another option, though some for various
reasons, do not leave.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
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