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