AustLit

Author's note: In Australia, endemic species are prevalent within the biodiverse state of Queensland. Of approximately 600 bird species identified in Queensland, over 235 species are considered endemic. In Icelandic, endemi means 'notorious.' As an ecological term in English, endemic denotes an indigenous species unique to a specified geographic location and not found elsewhere worldwide. Gibberbird traces a foreigner's first tenuous steps into Queensland's ornithological lexicon via unorthodox categorization and linguistic sorting methods.

Epigraph: "Mostly I seek the promiscuous feeling of being alive. Across a topography of tonalities, the codex amplifies an access. Within the discrete shelter, I move freely among new sensation." — Lisa Robertson, from "Time in the Codex,"
Nilling: Prose Essays on Noise, Pornography, the Codex, Melacholy, Lucretius, Folds, Cities, and Related Aporia

"Be not afraid. The isle is full of noises, / Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not." — William Shakespeare, from The Tempest

"The language we use is the language we desire." — Jill Hartman, from Booty: Hurricane Jane and Typhoon Mary