Bird stories, Boat-tailed Grackle and Brown Jay

The call of the Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major) is said to indicate it will rain soon.


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The Mopan claim that the often seen pa’ap, or Brown Jay (Cyanocorax morio) can be useful for hunters since it cries out when it sees a game animal; however, it if cries too loudly, it can scare the game away. The Q’eqchi’ of Belize have the same tradition of using this bird while hunting.


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Hull, K. & Fergus, R. AN ETHNOORNITHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO HUMAN-BIRD RELATIONS AMONG THE MOPAN MAYA OF BELIZE. 2009.

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