- "If we’re in bird language mode, however, we’re moving with a whole different frame of mind and venturing into another realm of awareness and intention and curiosity. We’re holding multiple questions in mind simultaneously. We’re not focused on a single species. We’re monitoring several species consciously and perhaps quite a few others unconsciously. We don’t have “hunting” [[[selective attention]]] intentions. We have [[diffuse attention]] awareness, curiosity, perceptions, and questions. We’re always aware of the ripples that we are creating as we go. What is the robin’s first alarm call? What is the junco’s? Ground [[predator]] or aerial predator?"
- "Although we can see in only one direction at a time, when we’re in bird language mode, we’re hearing [[information]] from all directions all the time. The experience is multidimensional and involves many different senses. We’re walking carefully, slowly, stopping and looking (but not sneaking, which fools no one out there), adopting a [[relaxed]] body [[posture]] that reflects a relaxed, [[receptive]] brain, not a hunting brain."
- When you don’t listen to some of the smallest [[agents]] in the land, you will find interesting larger agents only when they’re startled, on guard. To see them relaxed and in their element, you must listen, so you can find them frolicking, enjoying themselves.
- There is nothing [[random]] about [[behavior]] because life is always at stake.
- What we use to understand the languages of [[animals]] and [[plants]] are older and more fundamental than what we use to understand our own languages.
- "Our focus on the five [bird] vocalizations will get pretty microscopic, but the purpose is macroscopic. We want to think about birds and their habitats as anthropologists consider humans and their cultures."
Four of these bird vocalizations ([[songs]], companion calls, territorial [[aggression]], adolescent begging) are maintenance behaviors- baseline behavior. What is your subject’s [[baseline]] behavior?
- [[Ravens]] are useful for finding [[caribou]], [[elk]], and [[moose]]. They also often pair up with [[wolves]] during the winter. When ravens fly along a path and make a sudden dip, they are usually spotting something.
- When birds fly back and forth a lot in a cycle, there’s a good chance they have other birds to feed.