LUFTBAREN KULA: Danske feltomitologers tilegnelse af fugle

Resumé

John Liep: Airbourne Kula. The Appropriation

of Birds by Danish Fieid Ornithologists

Against a background of general attitudes

toward birds in the Danish public and the historical

development of popular omithology

the article discusses the practices and strategies

of fieid omithologists. Their community

is seen as a fieid of practice in which certain

values are diffused and acknowledged. A

specific development is “hit-hunting” or

“twitching” where omithologists collect observations

of rare birds. This may evolve into

a consuming passion and involves the use

of sophisticated communication equipment

and considerable expense. Two theories of

consumption are used to understand these

practices. In one consumption is regarded as

a means of competing for status and esteem.

In the other it builds on an inner urge for selffulfillment

believed to take place through

possession of coveted objects. These strategies

are not confined to the modem West but

are found also in the famous kula exchange

in Melanesia.