Why the Curlew’s Eye?

‘She kept the bush stone-curlew until last. The quick appearance of that cautious bird gave her goosebumps… Suddenly she felt a connection with the unkempt feathered messenger who called out its sorrow to her in the night. In this dim orange light, in this strange, dripping atmosphere, there was something in that haunting eye that could be a mirror.’ (p102–3)

The bush stone-curlew’s haunting wail is one of my first memories of arriving in Darwin – you can read about it in the back of the book. Since then, I’ve had numerous encounters with curlews, and they always stir me.

With each manuscript draft, the curlews came forward more strongly. I’ve included them from my own experiences and non-Indigenous cultural heritage – not from a First Nations’ perspective where the curlew plays a significant role in many foundational stories. Greta recognises ‘We don’t know the stories under us… Right with us, all around. Bring in our own instead…’ (p133)

To me there’s a connection between Greta and the curlew. The way the bird stops and stares reminds me of the saying ‘the eye of a friend is the best mirror’; and ‘the eyes are the window to the soul.’ Its mournful cry and associations with messages, change, beginnings and endings, death and grief, make the bird a catalyst for Greta’s journey into herself, calling her from the moment she enters the property.

‘The cry had gone right into her, and with it a question: What is it, what is it?
In the silence afterwards the memory of the wail went with her. The night was altered. A weight, a stone had dislodged.’ (p6)

Birds have a magical quality – they’re like a hybrid creature, with scaly legs and claws like a reptile, but warm blood like a mammal. They are at home on the ground and in the air. For me the curlew has a liminal quality – walking close to that fragile line between life and death, myth and reality.

Image copyright: Trina Railton, gift

Questions

How do you interpret the birds in this novel? Do any of them have a special meaning or connection for/with you?

What other works of literature or visual art have you seen/read/heard/experienced where birds play an important role?

Do you have a favourite book, poem or visual artwork that features a bird or birds? What does the bird in it mean for you?