I’m back! I have an MFA degree and a sunburn from a wonderful week in Disneyworld, and I am looking forward to all that life offers a bird-crazy illustrator!
I have posted a few of these, but I thought it would make sense to have them all in one post. This is the result of my final project for my MFA—a series of recently extinct birds. Someday I hope I can make this into a full-fledged (pun unintended) book! It was a great learning experience and I look forward to continuing work on it.
i bet Stephens Island wrens were the cutest things ever ;_;
Darwin’s Rhea (Rhea pennata)
Also known as the Lesser Rhea, Darwin’s rhea is a species of rhea (flightless birds related to ostriches) found only in the regions of Patagonia and Altiplano in southern South America. Like other ratites Darwin’s rhea is mainly a herbivore and feeds mostly on saltbush, grasses, and cactus fruits, however it will eat small reptiles and insects as-well. Darwin’s rheas are sociable birds and are often found in large groups of 10-30 individuals, however during the mating season the males will become highly aggressive and will defend their nests with their lives. They become so aggressive that females will have to lay the later eggs near the nest, instead of inside it, for the males to roll in. Currently Darwin’s rhea is listed as near threatened due to a combination of habitat loss, hunting and egg collecting.
Phylogeny
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A Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota), a bird closely related to kingfishers, shows off his serrated beak to the photgrapher in the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, Madre de Dios, Peru.
(photo: Geoff Gallice)
Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica)
Also known as the American Finfoot, the sungrebe is a species of finfoot native to Central/South America ranging from southern Mexico to southern Brazil and northeast Argentina. Like other finfoots the sungrebe is an aquatic specialist and can use its lobed feet to paddle through the water with ease. Unlike other finfoots sungrebe chicks are born altricial. Their diet is mostly unknown but it is thought that they dive for molluscs and a variety of insects and other arthropods. Like actual grebes sungrebes are often found in swamps or marshes and spend a good portion of their lives in the water.
Phylogeny
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Pickle, a four-week-old Hubmboldt penguin chick, is being hand-reared by zoo keepers at ZSL London Zoo with the help of a cuddly penguin toy. Picture: Ray Tang / Rex Features
you know we tried this with one of our baby flamingos when it got sick for a bit and had to live alone at the clinic
it was so weak it couldn’t even stand
they gave it a plushie flamingo to give it some company
it promptly woke the fuck up, flung itself at it and started beating the shit out of it
WHAT A MIRACLE OUR BABY IS CURED LMFAO
this is the greatest story i have ever read
