I have another exhibition planned for the last week of January/first week of February at the NEXT DOOR GALLERY in Birkenhead, Auckland. This is a little diptych that will be included. Its made up of two ten inch by ten inch canvases featuring the male huia on the right and female on left. 
This was the only species in the world where the two sexes had different shaped beaks which is one of the reasons they were so sought after by collectors and hunted to extinction. I have called the paintings "Birds of Paradise" as they also include the bird of paradise flowers altho for me the huia was the true bird of paradise. I had to swipe the flowers I needed for reference from a local council garden....ssshhhh don't tell anyone!
This was the only species in the world where the two sexes had different shaped beaks which is one of the reasons they were so sought after by collectors and hunted to extinction. I have called the paintings "Birds of Paradise" as they also include the bird of paradise flowers altho for me the huia was the true bird of paradise. I had to swipe the flowers I needed for reference from a local council garden....ssshhhh don't tell anyone! 
2 comments:
American Avocets male and femals have different shaped bills so that each can hunt in the mud for different prey. Doing so creates less competiton. The Northern harrier here has a much smaller male that feeds mostly oin birds whilke the larger femal feeds on mice, etc.
I am a retired birder - mostly watch my kids these days...but someday...
Good luck on the exhibition - the paintings are beautiful.
Thanks John, I learned something new! We get one or two single avocets stray to New Zealand some years but never to my region so I've never seen one. In all honesty I think I painted my male huia beak a little too straight but you have to "wing it" so to speak when the species you are painting is extinct!
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