Environmental education has a strong connection to popular culture, and that's what we want.
show in this series of posts on the Explora Natura blog.
We begin this series of reports on environmental education and popular culture and the magnificent work of Antonio Pestana called “Iberian Birds in Popular Culture”This fantastic collection of sayings, proverbs, and anecdotes was published by Tundra Publishing. It will soon be complemented by a second part, which the author has already made significant progress on.
We begin with one of the most emblematic birds of the Andalusian steppes, the red-legged partridge.
This curious bird has the habit of disappearing and camouflaging itself among the vegetation, no matter how little it flies, in less time than it takes a rooster to crow. Its name likely comes from this curious and necessary ability: "partridge" or "partridge bird," which may derive from "perderse," meaning "to get lost," a bird that gets lost.
Despite its vibrant colors, with its striking bright red beak, legs, and eye ring, it manages to disappear as if by magic. It crouches down, and its brown plumage blends seamlessly into the surrounding undergrowth, making it indistinguishable.
Another of its great abilities is its speed. This quality, which has not gone unnoticed by those who have observed it in the fields since ancient times, is called "apeonar," and from this comes the saying "to run faster than a partridge." This is the name by which its chicks are known.
The males break the silence with their characteristic call in the mornings and afternoons. Throughout history, popular culture has created onomatopoeias based on their call, saying that when partridges sing they are saying:
«"Forty slices, forty slices, forty slices..."»
Or, when the bird, imprisoned in its cage and complicit with its master, lures its wild brethren among the olive stakes into the deadly trap:
«"By this stake, by this stake, by this stake..."»
We believe it's important that environmental education be learned through popular culture, which has been very rich in references to this bird. This makes sense because it has always been highly prized, featuring prominently in poems, songs, legends, and stories. But I'm particularly fond of one tale, "The Partridge of the Souls.".
The Partridge of the Souls
There is a very old tale about a hunter who was very devoted to the souls in purgatory but had terrible aim. Once, while out hunting, he happened to find two partridges standing together within shooting range. At this pleasant sight, he raised his shotgun to his face and said:
– Blessed souls, if I kill both of them, one will be for you.
Having said this, he fired; he killed one, and seeing the other escape unharmed, he exclaimed:
– What a pace the partridge of the souls is taking!”
This story is told by replacing the partridge with the rabbit, which is its original version, and is titled "the rabbit of the souls," but in some places the mammal has been changed to the bird.
“"Brunette, if I caught you
where the partridges sing…
Let's see if you'd deny me there
the word you gave me!”
