When I was growing up in the UK, my dad was my default bird identifier and his general knowledge about natural history, wildlife and birdlife was something else. So I don't remember often searching for information about birds since Dad taught us to recognise most local birds from an early age and those I didn't … Continue reading My approach to identifying Brazilian birds
Tag: Brazil
Run-ins with reptiles
I never had much contact with reptiles growing up. When I was volunteering in a church in Nicaragua with a team from the UK who were mostly also late teens, one of the lads bought at iguana from the market. It was being sold to eat and he bought it to surprise a team-mate. Its … Continue reading Run-ins with reptiles
Danger in nature – all snakes and no ladders
Spot the snake (answer at the end) "There's danger everywhere!" exclaimed the twelve-year-old, after her little sister told her that scorpions like to nest in dry railway sleepers of the kind they were both standing on in the backyard. The twelve-year-old retreated to the security of the house and her phone, the three-year-old found a … Continue reading Danger in nature – all snakes and no ladders
On danger in nature
I've had a note on my phone for months now called 'Dangerous nature post'. It was a reminder to me to attempt to get some coherent thoughts down about nature, danger and the unknown. In February I read a fascinating article in Inkcap Journal. 'A dark miracle in the Forest of Dean' shows how the … Continue reading On danger in nature
Birds, bins and Brazil
My obsession with Brazilian birds has definitely been growing over the last year and a half. My husband actually introduced me to the iconic Sabiá-laranjeira (Rufous-bellied Thrush) in the few weeks after we first met, but since I was in the UK for most of our relationship, and then living in favelas after we got … Continue reading Birds, bins and Brazil
Carrapateiros and capybaras
The gavião carrapateiro is an astounding bird. It goes by the name 'Yellow-headed caracara' in English but I much prefer the literal translation 'tick hawk'. Gavião carrapateiro - @juliano.fabricante Brazil being extremely large, and the gavião carrapateiro appearing everywhere, it has a long list of aliases: caracará-branco, caracaraí, caracaratinga, carapinhé, gavião-pinhé, pinhé, pinhém, papa-bicheira, chimango, … Continue reading Carrapateiros and capybaras
Bilingual children and language development – Interference from the dominant language
I mentioned in my last post that my daughter, who is growing up bilingual and is now three and four months, does actively translate between her languages. I'll explain a bit more here about why I think this is interesting, how I know she's doing it and I'll give some examples. Firstly, I think this … Continue reading Bilingual children and language development – Interference from the dominant language
Bilingual children and language development – Confusion between first and third person in Portuguese
On the subject of the confusion that must arise between the first person singular and the third person singular for a child acquiring Portuguese - mentioned in my last post here and back by overwhelming demand - I have some further observations. Not only do the majority of Brazilians talk about themselves in the third … Continue reading Bilingual children and language development – Confusion between first and third person in Portuguese
Poems in Portuguese
I have only written and shared a few poems in Portuguese and I will include them here, with a rough English translation. My Brazilian bird poems are all written in Portuguese but their grammatical structure works a bit differently so I tend not to think about them as being written in the same way. Writing … Continue reading Poems in Portuguese
Unmoving mountains and the glory of God
I grew up in a farmhouse in the bottom of a valley with windows facing the hill on the other side of the river, accompanied by a constant watery melody with frequent train interludes. Towering beech trees were visible from every window and with their changing colours and seasonal skies the result was always dramatic, … Continue reading Unmoving mountains and the glory of God
Brazil from the outside in 