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This is a hand made lost wax cast solid sterling silver bird bone necklace, hallmarked 925. The bones are 45mm long & hang on sterling silver chains which are blackened with patina.

I found the original Phaps chalcoptera, or bronzewing pidgeon bone years ago when I lived on a property in the Karri forest in the South West of WA. The bones are a reminder of the sublime balance between strength and delicacy of that exceptional part of the world.

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The Bronzewing Pidgeon has an interesting history. When I lived in the South West I was told that the Minang Noongar people of the area traditionally hunted the birds for food during winter and spring. When colonial settlers first occupied the land they saw this, & with a limited understanding of bush food tried it themselves. They were initially unaware that from summer to autumn the Phaps chalcoptera fed on the seeds of the Gastrolobium plant, which is toxic due to it's Fluoroacetate content. They became sick or died from secondary poisoning.

A brief search of literature has identified some truth to this story. The birds accumulate the toxin in their bones though they themselves (& many other native animals) are immune to it. There are records of introduced predators & pets dying as a result of secondary poisoning from eating the bird's bones. There was also evidence of livestock dying from eating the gastrolobium plant themselves. It seems that the human deaths people spoke of were likely exaggerated & I was not able to find any record of them.

There is evidence that this secondary toxicity is an important evolutionary factor in the tenuous survival of some of our endangered wildlife, who are facing extinction due to the presence of introduced predators including foxes & feral cats. Could these toxic bones be enough?

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"Noongar people have traditionally hunted and gathered food according to the six seasons. In our Noongar language these are called Bunuru, Djeran, Makuru, Djilba, Kambarang and Birak and are determined by the weather patterns. The seasons tell us which animal and plant resources are plentiful at those times"..."As guardians of our country, we achieved balance and adaptability through thousands of years of living in harmony with the bush. Our knowledge of the seasons and managing the land was given to us by the Waugal and passed down by our Elders."

Source: http://www.noongarculture.org.au/food/

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