real -unreal

It's interesting how we get a piece of information from whatever source and tend to believe it straight up. A lot has been written around not believing everything you read. How about what you hear? In my early research concerning making a proposal to SCANZ I found a sound file that is purported to be a recording of an extinct bird, the Huia. Since I have been here the question of the provenance of the recording has been raised. The bird became extinct around the time that recording equipment was being invented . The source website does not include any notes. Although it is easy to believe the recording , there is now doubt on whether it is a real bird or a recording of a Maori fellow imitating the bird recorded long after it was gone. Here are two different recordings.

This is the documented imitation recording as whistled by Henare Hemana in 1954, a member of the Maori people who participated in the exhibitions to find Huias in the early 1900's.

New Zealand sound archives catalog

Huia imitation recording

Here is the Huia recording from the MacPherson Natural History Unit. www.nzbirds.com

Huia recording

Sounds like the same guy imitating the bird to me......



Tengaruru and Herwini from the marae came by the media lab yesterday to see what we are up to. The Maori folks have been interested in our projects as some of them are referencing Maori culture. My kite project will have me broadcasting the song of the Huia from the kite in some way referencing the loss of the beloved and sacred bird. I showed them the Night Kite and the photos from the test flight the other night. Both were intrigued by the photographic results and very enthusiastic. I also played them the archival recording of the Huia which I wanted to use and discussed the relationship of Maori language to the bird call. We talked a bit about Maori spiritual beliefs in relation to kites, the birds and the sky too.

I feel kind of silly believing the bird call to be a recording of a real bird, but then again the Maori people fooled the actual birds with their whistling imitations.