#rusticbunting

Work continues at our house in Karuizawa, and recently my daily routine has included taking walks around the neighbourhood to seek out wild birds as a way to unwind. It's been years since I last had such consecutive stretches of time to simply be with nature, observing without distraction, neither gathering research data nor leading guided tours. Consequently, new insights keep emerging about the appearance and behaviour of birds I should know well, making it all the more fascinating.

Frans de Waal, the great ethologist, writes: "Anyone intending to conduct experiments (mainly on animal cognition) should first spend 2000 hours observing the spontaneous behaviour of the target animal." To explore the very position of the "purpose" that leads to instrumental rationality, paradoxically, a deliberately flat perspective, free of purpose, should be essential.

The photograph shows the Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica). Though this bird faces global concerns about its rapidly declining population, this winter, a flock of around 60 can be seen daily around our house. Highly wary, they blend into the surroundings while foraging in crops and fields, becoming invisible. They all take flight suddenly before I even notice them, always surprising me with how many were hidden there.

軽井沢の家での作業が続き、息抜きに野鳥を探しに近所を歩くのが最近の日課。研究のデータ集めでも、ガイドツアーでもなく、無心に自然に相対し観察に没頭する時間を連続してとれるのは何年ぶりか。すると見慣れているはずの鳥の姿や行動に、新しい気づきが次々に浮かんできてますます面白い。

動物行動学の大家ドゥ・ヴァールは「(動物の認知の)実験を行うつもりの人はみな、対象とする動物の自発的な行動の観察に、あらかじめ2000時間を費やしておくべきだ。」 と記す。目的合理性に至る「目的」の位置そのものをまず探るには、逆説的に目的を敢えて持たぬフラットな視座が不可欠なのだろう。

写真はカシラダカ。 世界的な個体数の急減が心配されるが、今冬の家の回りでは60羽前後の群れが常に見られる主役。警戒心が強い上、畑などで採餌中は姿が紛れて見えず、こちらが気づく前に一斉に飛び上がると、こんなにたくさん隠れていたかといつもびっくり。