“Alamsiki” is Swahili for “goodbye.”
I’m using Swahili101.com’s dictionary as a pronunciation guide for this week’s word.
Month: April 2020
98. Friday’s Flyer: Birds Everywhere
Consider Them All*
There are roughly 11,000 species of birds in the world.
During this week in which we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, it is especially alarming to hear that nearly 40 percent of the world’s birds are facing significant decline.
Among the threats to these creatures are habitat loss, deforestation, climate change and severe weather, plastic and pesticide pollution and illegal trafficking.
Despite Covid-19’s grip all around the world, professor, author and ornithologist Dr. Drew Lanham finds that birds give us one of the best tools we have for coping in today’s oppressive environment: hope.
When speaking of his bird/hope connection, Lanham will sometimes cite a first line of Emily Dickinson. “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers.”
In 2018, Lanham was the recipient of the National Audubon’s Lufkin Prize for his tireless advocacy to protect birds, his lifelong dedication to environmental health and his efforts in building a new generation of conservation leaders.
Some might view an Earth Day celebration amid a worldwide pandemic as a nonsensical, pointless exercise, but Dr. Lanham sees an optimistic future from back of his binoculars.
He observes his beautiful birds, knowing that the things they need to survive (clean air, pure water and healthy, balanced ecosystems) are the same things upon which people rely. So he continues the work of protecting our planet, believing that it is a solid, smart investment that will pay off for generations.
“Conservation really means feeling deeply enough for something that you’re willing to save some for others. I think the word for that is ‘love’. And I think conservation is ultimately an act of love.” – J. Drew Lanham, PhD
Birds symbolize wisdom. Just ask an owl.
Birds define grace and strength. Watch as they lock their outstretched wings and soar effortlessly overhead.
Birds epitomize freedom, migrating to where they please, when they please.
Birds are our first musicians, and they all play a different tune.
They’re our link between heaven and earth.
We should be doing a better job maintaining that link.
“Stop and listen for the birds,” instructs Lanham. “If you can’t hear the birds, something is amiss.”
* Why feature all birds?
It’s Earth Day Week. That’s why.
BirdLive International is on a campaign to make a healthy natural environment a human right.
In an open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Birdlife International marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day by calling for the UN to take a bold and unprecedented step: declare a healthy natural environment a fundamental human right.
The letter calls on the UN, as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, to add an ‘Article 31’ to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – enshrining a universal right to a healthy natural environment, guaranteed by public policies, governed by sustainability and by scientific and traditional indigenous knowledge.
91. Friday’s Flyer: White-Bellied Go-Away-Bird
White-Bellied Go-Away-Bird *
I can answer that question.
The White-Bellied Go-Away-Bird gets its name from the distinctive call it uses when it feels threatened — g’way, g’way!
Go-Away-Birds are semi-zygodactylous. Didn’t know that, did you?
Let me explain. Zygodactyly is an arrangement of digits in birds with two toes facing forward and two back.
Go-Away-Birds are semi-zygodactylous, meaning their fourth (outer) toe can be switched back and forth.
The bill is black in the male, pea-green in the female. They often have prominent crests and long tails.
The White-Bellied Go-Away Bird feeds on fruits, flowers, nectar, leaves and seed pods. It’s considered a pest in some regions, raiding orchards and plantations of fruiting trees and vegetable crops.
* Why feature the White-Bellied Go-Away-Bird?
Now, who wouldn’t be at least a little bit curious about a bird whose official name is Go-Away?
89. Wednesday’s Words: Maisha marefu
“Maisha marefu” is Swahili for “long life.”
– it’s what to say when you and your companions raise glasses of liquor, clink the glasses together, and acknowledge your camaraderie –
It’s a bit like when we use the word “cheers.”
84. Friday’s Flyer: Bee-eaters
Bee-eaters *
Click on an image to view one at a time in a full page carousel.
You’re probably wondering what they eat. . . . . . . . OK, maybe not.
There are about 20 species of brightly-colored bee-eaters in Africa.
Cinnamon-Chested Bee-eaters have bright green heads, upper parts, and tails. Their chins are outlined in black. Their diet consists mainly of honeybees.
Little Bee-eaters have green upper parts, yellow throats and brown upper breasts fading to ocre on the belly. Their beaks are black. They’re the smallest of the African bee-eaters.
White-Fronted Bee-eaters have white foreheads, square taisl and a red patch on their throats. They nest in small colonies, digging holes in cliffs or earthen banks.
The Northern Carmine Bee-eater has bright red feathers and gathers in large colonies of hundreds or thousands of individuals. It makes quite a dazzling spectacle. In quite a few of their regional homes in Africa where the birds are known to nest in large numbers year after year, they are a major tourist attraction.
Besides eating bees, bee-eaters chow down on lots of different insects, especially wasps and hornets. Before eating their meal, a bee-eater removes the stinger by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.
Bee-eaters don’t just fly around catching insects willy-nilly. They target a particular insect, follow the movements it makes, and hunt it down by following its twists and turns. Despite its slight appearance, its bill is quite strong and chomps down on prey insects’ hard shells with a loud snap.
Bee Eaters are a competitive bunch. To find and woo a mate, they need balance and skill.
* Why feature bee-eaters?
As it turns out, there is a tiny connection to this week’s Zebra Theme.
Bee-eaters have a habit of using large, moving animals as temporary perches. This can be any number of local animals, such as storks, ostriches, warthogs, giraffes, and (?) . . . . . . . . you guessed it, zebras.
When they do this, not only does it provide them with an elevated lookout, but as other animals pass by, they stir up insects for the birds to go after as they move along.
81. Wednesday’s Words: Review #2
Review #2
A Review of the previous 6 Swahili words
75. Friday’s Flyer: Cattle Egret
“As our city streets quiet, as people hang back from parks and paths,
and the busy noise of daily life recedes,
listen for the birds.”
David Arnold, President of the Nat’l Audubon Society
Cattle Egret *
The cattle egret has a relatively short, thick neck, a sturdy bill, and a hunched posture. It spends most of its time in fields rather than streams.
The cattle egret’s breeding plumage highlights its beautiful peach feathers, and it often appears to be wearing spiked topknots. Its legs and feet even change from black to a dramatic orange.
Cattle egrets feed on a wide range of prey, particularly insects, especially grasshoppers, crickets, flies (adults and maggots), and moths, as well as spiders, frogs, lizards and earthworms.
They forage at the feet of grazing cattle, heads bobbing with each step, or ride on their backs to pick at ticks.
* Why feature the Cattle Egret?
This is the last day of what has turned out to be Elephant Week, and elephants have a special relationship with the cattle egret.
The cattle egret, while relieving the elephant of parasites, receives a free meal and a free ride as the elephant walks along. But the egret enjoys this same kind of relationship with a number of different mammals.
Elephants, on the other hand, aren’t involved in any other symbiotic relationships except that of the cattle egret. For the elephant, it’s the cattle egret only.
72. Wednesday’s Word: Tembo
“Tembo” is Swahili for “elephant.”
I’m attempting to learn one new Swahili word or phrase per week.
I used the YouTube video “Swahili Animals, Part 1” as a pronunciation guide.
Turn Right and Keep Going 