"Listen Carefully to the Voices of the Birds": A Comparative Review of Birds as Signs
Journal of Ethnobiology • Vol/Iss. 38(4) • Society of Ethnobiology • • Published In • Pages: 533-549 •
By Wyndham, Felice S., Park, Karen E.
Hypothesis
Birds will be considered to be signifiers cross-culturally.
Note
The comparative, descriptive review found that a sum of 498 birds are thought by at least one of the 123 ethnolinguistic groups to be signs, messengers, or communicators. The most common bird sign vehicle was vocalization (50%) followed by bird behavior (24%) and bodily presence (10%). The phenomenon is widespread, but note that only 37% of societies in eHRAF had birds as signifiers.
| Test Name | Support | Significance | Coefficient | Tail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal test | Supported | UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN |
| Variable Name | Variable Type | OCM Term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Birds | Independent | Fauna, Ethnozoology |
| Signifiers | Dependent | Gestures And Signs, Ethnozoology |