In this section are copies of original works of art. All of them are dedicated to helping us live according to unconditional love and compassion, which is the foundation of our peaceful means of bringing true and lasting peace to all of God's creatures, whether they are human beings or other animals.
(Artwork - 069)
White-flanked Antwren
(Myrmotherula axillaris)
These tiny birds (about 8 grams, or 0.28 ounces) have a large
distribution, all the way from Honduras to southern Brazil, although there
is a large break in their known range, with one distinctive and
geographically isolated race occupying the coastal region of south-eastern
Brazil…a region that hosts many endemic bird species, some quite rare.
Fortunately there are places in that distinctive region where the
White-flanked Antwren is still common.
This is not a wren, of course, but a member of the family known as the
“Typical Antbirds”, or Thamnophilidae, which is found only in the western
hemisphere, from southern Mexico to southern South America. There are over 200 species and many are small and similar to each other in
appearance. Many of them live up to the “antbird” name by following
swarms of ants through tropical jungles. This species eats a variety
of small insects and spiders, removing the wings of butterflies and moths
before swallowing the bodies. They are found in evergreen forests,
some associated with various species of bamboo. I have shown the
Central American subspecies, of which the male is black and white, but some
races have gray backs. Even within a single subspecies there is
often quite a bit of variation on how much white shows in the male bird…in
fact, it varies with the individual bird, depending on how he displays his
plumage, and how worn the feathers are.
This painting was done life size, in gouache watercolours, on paper.
Copyright © Barry Kent MacKay
Barry describes himself as a Canadian artist/writer/naturalist.
See his website: http://barrykentmackay.ca/
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