Friday 19 July 2013

Western Tanager in oils

I love the colours of this bird.  An interesting fact is that the red pigment in the face of the bird is rhodoxanthin, which is apparently rare in birds.  It is believed that the bird must acquire the pigment from its diet of insects which have eaten plants containing the pigment.  Amazing how nature works.

Western Tanager measures 6 x 6 inches and is painted on Ampersand Gessobord panel.

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Many thanks to USFWS for the reference photo.

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