Birding Culture i theResidence

Yes, Laurie, one of the better-sustained tv miniseries, very watchable, in by view. The birdwatcher hero is a pleasing change from the birdwatcher villain. I am thinking of the evil Stephen Norton in ‘Curtain’, the last case of Agatha Christie’s Poirot and the conspiratorial Tom Voze in the excellent, but not well-regarded, ‘Amsterdam’.

More seriously, ‘Rail Babbler’ brings to mind a looming English-name issue. In Avilist this is ‘Rail-babbler’, inherited from the IOC-group methodology.  This followed a so-called bird-bird rule where a hyphen was to be used where the name was a compound of two bird names. That was already followed in Australia, with ‘Shrike-thrush’, for example.  Unfortunately, IOC failed to apply its own rule for three Australian species and gave us for the first time ‘Shrikethrush’, ‘Shriketit’ and ‘Cuckooshrike’.  AviList now threatens to inflict those irrational formulations on a long-suffering public.  Cordelia Cupp and Hercule Poirot would never have done that.

—–Original Message—–
From: Birding-Aus <birding-aus-bounces@birding-aus.org> On Behalf Of Laurie Knight via Birding-Aus
Sent: Friday, 3 October 2025 9:45 PM
To: birding-aus@birding-aus.org
Subject: [Birding-Aus] Birding Culture in "The Residence"

The Residence is an interesting new comedy drama about the a suspicious death at the White House during a State dinner held for the Australian Prime Minister.

The twist to the series is that the central character is a prominent detective (Cordelia Cup) who happens to be a dedicated birder. 

She has a very keen eye for detail and during her initial nocturnal investigation she produces binoculars, a birding sketch book, a volume of Birds of the World and a birding checklist for the White House.

She uses the approach of a falcon sizing up a flock of prey to identify persons of interest in the case.

There is a humorous segment dealing with a bogey bird (referred to as a “nemesis bird”).  [I would be interested to know what the species of the bird that makes a close up appearance actually is].

If you have access to Netflix and enjoy references to birding behaviour by a respected character, you may well enjoy this series.

Watch for the Rail Babbler and make allowances for poetic licence.

Regards, Laurie
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