non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
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BerndHuss
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Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
Good on you, Ian McLean. As an artist myself, specialising in bird art, I would be embarrassed to put my name to such a thing!
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andrewcrossland
- Posts: 2137
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- Location: Christchurch
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
Another wrong Kingfisher - the caption says "New Zealand Kingfisher - Kotare (Todiramphus sanctus)
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Steps
- Posts: 526
- Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:52 am
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
I am going to contact the artist at piedaydesigns to point out their error.
This whole thread maybe of interest to Jeromey and Hillary.. or a side article in Fair go.. people not getting what they think they are..Even Iwi may get on the bandwagon?...what would be worse, mis pronoun a bird name or have the wrong bird.. from a foreign country?
http://www.kakariki.net
My Spelling is NOT incorrect, it's Creative
My Spelling is NOT incorrect, it's Creative
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SomesBirder
- Posts: 1403
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Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
I'm aware that posting this one might be unfair, because it was made by someone outside of New Zealand and is probably the way it is because of misleading results from Google images or image-hosting websites. But there are indeed more native species here than there are non-natives, even if two or three of them might be a bit hard to recognise.
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Ian McLean
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 2:29 pm
non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
Hi there
Thanks BerndHuss & Steps for your comments. I have contacted a number of the artists & souvenir manufacturers regarding the Kotare/Common Kingfisher error & have done so in a nice & informative way. The vast majority have been very appreciative of the advice & they have often been shocked by the error. A very small minority have been defensive e.g. "what does it matter" & have taken offence to the error being pointed out.
Unfortunately, this continued error highlights the limited bird knowledge of many New Zealanders. This is something that varies considerably, some have great knowledge (this includes many young people & new immigrants to the country) whilst a vast many others have a birding knowledge that is often shockingly poor. You will often find people whom have lived all their life in New Zealand (60+ years), but don't know what a Tauhou/Silvereye is or the difference between a Blackbird & a Song Thrush. There is also a dumbing down of birds names e.g. the White-faced Heron is often just called the "Grey Heron", the Kereru/NZ Pigeon is called "Wood Pigeon", with people not realising that there are other birds around the world that have these names. Anyway, that's enough negative talk about that, we can only try our best to inform people about our birdlife & when I get asked by someone to help identify a species, I firstly always thank them for taking an interest !
Steps, a news article on Seven Sharp regarding the Kingfisher mis-identification is a great idea & it is something I will work on. Media releases regarding birds can be rather a hit & miss affair, as I release many of them here in Auckland on behalf of Birds New Zealand. Radio NZ, news websites & print media are generally good, but TV can completely ignore you. For example, late last year I wrote a media release about people using the bird sanctuary at Omaha Sandspit as their own personal beach to play cricket amongst the NZ Dotterel nests, it was completely ignored both by TVNZ & Newshub; however, a TVNZ reporter had no hesitation about asking me for an interview about a dancing Cockatoo !
Cheers
Ian McLean
Thanks BerndHuss & Steps for your comments. I have contacted a number of the artists & souvenir manufacturers regarding the Kotare/Common Kingfisher error & have done so in a nice & informative way. The vast majority have been very appreciative of the advice & they have often been shocked by the error. A very small minority have been defensive e.g. "what does it matter" & have taken offence to the error being pointed out.
Unfortunately, this continued error highlights the limited bird knowledge of many New Zealanders. This is something that varies considerably, some have great knowledge (this includes many young people & new immigrants to the country) whilst a vast many others have a birding knowledge that is often shockingly poor. You will often find people whom have lived all their life in New Zealand (60+ years), but don't know what a Tauhou/Silvereye is or the difference between a Blackbird & a Song Thrush. There is also a dumbing down of birds names e.g. the White-faced Heron is often just called the "Grey Heron", the Kereru/NZ Pigeon is called "Wood Pigeon", with people not realising that there are other birds around the world that have these names. Anyway, that's enough negative talk about that, we can only try our best to inform people about our birdlife & when I get asked by someone to help identify a species, I firstly always thank them for taking an interest !
Steps, a news article on Seven Sharp regarding the Kingfisher mis-identification is a great idea & it is something I will work on. Media releases regarding birds can be rather a hit & miss affair, as I release many of them here in Auckland on behalf of Birds New Zealand. Radio NZ, news websites & print media are generally good, but TV can completely ignore you. For example, late last year I wrote a media release about people using the bird sanctuary at Omaha Sandspit as their own personal beach to play cricket amongst the NZ Dotterel nests, it was completely ignored both by TVNZ & Newshub; however, a TVNZ reporter had no hesitation about asking me for an interview about a dancing Cockatoo !
Cheers
Ian McLean
Last edited by Ian McLean on Sun May 09, 2021 1:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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andrewcrossland
- Posts: 2137
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
- Location: Christchurch
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
A bit embarrassing for the arty-farty brigade at Victoria University of Wellington to be using the wrong kigfisher as their "kotare" logo for their NZ literary journal......!! Perhaps better placed on their Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Bronte and Hardy journal?!
maybe its a theme amongst educational establishments in Uniquely Wellington - remember the Naenae College double kotare mural?! Such a stunning art work but a bugger they didn't actually do their homework first - or go and have a look at an actual kingfisher down on the water's edge....
maybe its a theme amongst educational establishments in Uniquely Wellington - remember the Naenae College double kotare mural?! Such a stunning art work but a bugger they didn't actually do their homework first - or go and have a look at an actual kingfisher down on the water's edge....
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andrewcrossland
- Posts: 2137
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- Location: Christchurch
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
I suggest being careful about trying to make a media story of it - there’s a good chance the media won’t take the angle that artists or web designers don’t research their subjects and mistakingly put up the wrong kingfisher and other wrong pics. There’s an equal chance they’ll follow the default media stance of making fun of “twitchers” and suggesting that the “NZ bird world are taking themselves too seriously and are being over precious”.
So why not just enjoy these erroneous pics for the folly and humour that they are and just leave the artists and designers to it?! After all, they’re providing great material for us all to have a weekly chuckle!! It would be a shame if the seemingly endless procession of pics dried up ....
So why not just enjoy these erroneous pics for the folly and humour that they are and just leave the artists and designers to it?! After all, they’re providing great material for us all to have a weekly chuckle!! It would be a shame if the seemingly endless procession of pics dried up ....
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Ian McLean
- Posts: 204
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 2:29 pm
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
Hi Andrew
I can understand the points you are making, but I always look to educate people about our birdlife.
I also like to prove the media wrong in their expectations. As you mention, they often like to make fun of birders & portray us as being some type of weirdos. They invite you to an interview in the expectation that you are going to be an anorak wearing, buck toothed stammering oddball, with circular thick lensed glasses, binoculars hanging from the neck, sporting a thinning bad combover of hair ! I make a real effort to prove them wrong & I show up well dressed, groomed & articulate. I usually mention that having a hobby after all makes people interesting & I upsell birding as a positive way to relax.
In regard to artists & graphic designers continually portraying the Common Kingfisher as the Kotare, it shows a lack of craft & observation that should be seen as embarrassing. It unfortunately appears that a number of New Zealand artists just copy from other artists works or photos & that their art is the equivalent of a "paint by numbers" exercise. I also feel sorry for the people who get ripped of in buying this poor art.
In regard to a media release, I will likely leave it for a month or two due to other commitments. But keep the photos coming Andrew, I do enjoy them & it adds to the catalogue of errors !
Cheers
Ian McLean
I can understand the points you are making, but I always look to educate people about our birdlife.
I also like to prove the media wrong in their expectations. As you mention, they often like to make fun of birders & portray us as being some type of weirdos. They invite you to an interview in the expectation that you are going to be an anorak wearing, buck toothed stammering oddball, with circular thick lensed glasses, binoculars hanging from the neck, sporting a thinning bad combover of hair ! I make a real effort to prove them wrong & I show up well dressed, groomed & articulate. I usually mention that having a hobby after all makes people interesting & I upsell birding as a positive way to relax.
In regard to artists & graphic designers continually portraying the Common Kingfisher as the Kotare, it shows a lack of craft & observation that should be seen as embarrassing. It unfortunately appears that a number of New Zealand artists just copy from other artists works or photos & that their art is the equivalent of a "paint by numbers" exercise. I also feel sorry for the people who get ripped of in buying this poor art.
In regard to a media release, I will likely leave it for a month or two due to other commitments. But keep the photos coming Andrew, I do enjoy them & it adds to the catalogue of errors !
Cheers
Ian McLean
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andrewcrossland
- Posts: 2137
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
- Location: Christchurch
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
Hi Ian, well said..........
I didn’t know how big a can of worms I was opening back in mid 2019 when I started this thread and stuck that first pic of the wrong kingfisher on as a first post. Bizarrely that was only about the third time I’d ever come across the wrong kingfisher In NZ before but now that I walk around with my eyes open I run into them fairly often!!
Gives me something to do when my wife takes me into the souvenir shops when we’re on holiday!!
There’s been well over 20,000 hits on this thread since it started so obviously a something that is amusing or bemusing to a lot of people. And hopefully only a source of outrage to a few. Even when the pics are the wrong birds - they’re all far better than anything I can paint!!
For the most part I’m pretty forgiving of all these errors - the only time I’m less than impressed is when it’s done by an organisation that should know better (see the stuff ups by Auckland Council, Victoria University, pest control firms, forests &bird etc as examples).
The other time I’m not impressed is when it’s done by that small subset of artists who act like they have some divinely ordained gift that gives them the unique almost clairvoyant ability to channel between human-kind and nature. They pretend they have some long standing affinity with the bird; they add the name “kotare” as though to signify their possession of some higher level of spiritual connection - and then the pic (of the wrong bird) kinda makes you realise that’s it’s all a bit of a fraud.
I didn’t know how big a can of worms I was opening back in mid 2019 when I started this thread and stuck that first pic of the wrong kingfisher on as a first post. Bizarrely that was only about the third time I’d ever come across the wrong kingfisher In NZ before but now that I walk around with my eyes open I run into them fairly often!!
Gives me something to do when my wife takes me into the souvenir shops when we’re on holiday!!
There’s been well over 20,000 hits on this thread since it started so obviously a something that is amusing or bemusing to a lot of people. And hopefully only a source of outrage to a few. Even when the pics are the wrong birds - they’re all far better than anything I can paint!!
For the most part I’m pretty forgiving of all these errors - the only time I’m less than impressed is when it’s done by an organisation that should know better (see the stuff ups by Auckland Council, Victoria University, pest control firms, forests &bird etc as examples).
The other time I’m not impressed is when it’s done by that small subset of artists who act like they have some divinely ordained gift that gives them the unique almost clairvoyant ability to channel between human-kind and nature. They pretend they have some long standing affinity with the bird; they add the name “kotare” as though to signify their possession of some higher level of spiritual connection - and then the pic (of the wrong bird) kinda makes you realise that’s it’s all a bit of a fraud.
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SomesBirder
- Posts: 1403
- Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:02 pm
Re: non NZ birds mistakenly shown as NZ birds....
Geoff Norman's Birdstories is a truly superb book, so it is terribly unfortunate that it mislabels a pair of grey warblers as pīpipi.
I like how the book explains how, for several decades in the 1800s, some people believed the Guam Kingfisher to be a New Zealand bird, on the basis of one specimen that got misunderstood as having originated in New Zealand.
I like how the book explains how, for several decades in the 1800s, some people believed the Guam Kingfisher to be a New Zealand bird, on the basis of one specimen that got misunderstood as having originated in New Zealand.