Postcard 2 - Gemma Collard
There are definitely parallels to be drawn between the way we ascribe worth to plants according to their usefulness and beauty, and the way we objectify birds in culture through viewing them merely as symbols for other things. Further to this, birds are also subject to being valued only for their beauty, and this often leads us to overlook those which are for whatever reason less appealing.
This idea of overlooking things based on a lack of appeal or use is certainly apparent in the way we celebrate vibrant parrots, and book a year in advance for the opportunity to see the sakura blossoms in Japan in full bloom. This is certainly at odds with deforestation and duck hunting - there is a hierarchical structure to our perceptions of the natural world. Something that complicates this 'value' of beauty is the humble ibis (or as it is affectionately named in Australia, the 'bin chicken'.) The Conversation has a fantastic essay entitled "the rise of the ‘bin chicken’, a totem for modern Australia", which looks at the ibis as an iconic species in the present day, but also discusses its lineage as an Egyptian deity. The way that infamy plays into our perceptions of non-human life is thought provoking, and it would be interesting to compile a list of infamous creatures (something that extends beyond pests and creatures that have the capacity to be life-threatening).
