Resonant Ecologies
Walking near Cape Conran I came upon a family of lyrebirds, seemingly a mother and three offspring. Disturbed by us, the mother called to chicks until they joined her in one of the trees in the forest. We kept walking and when we returned later on our way back, we heard her singing. The group were near to where we first encountered them, not far from the path we were walking. Her singing included distinctive calls, which sounded like two oscillators frequency modulating one another, but also the sounds of many other birds. In a short time we heard the calls of whip birds, wattle birds, black cockatoos, and even kookaburras amongst others. Max Ritts studied the northern coast of Canada, producing what he calls ‘a geography apprehended through sound, made through sound: a resonant ecology’ (Ritts 2024: 3). The lyrebird’s song can be thought of in this way, as something we hear that articulates a set of complex relationships. In this case it is the lyrebird’s neighbours, fellow inhabitants of East Gippsland, Gunaikurnai Country. It was clear when we first heard the lyrebird she was calling to her young, likely concerned for their safety with us near, but when she sang later, mimicking many species and yet making something new from their calls, she seemed to be singing for the joy of it, and I was captivated by the vibrancy of her mimicry. Listening to the recording I made with Ritt’s concept of a ‘resonant ecology’ in mind, I realise that the lyrebird’s song was not only beautiful, but shared a lot of information about the local ecology.
Ritts, M. (2024), A Resonant Ecology, Duke University Press.