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 -
201)
Black Tern (Childonias niger)
This painting of the Black Tern (Childonias niger) was commissioned as a
retirement gift for a biologist who studied the species. It is the fourth
painting (plus several pen and ink studies) I have done of the Black Terns,
a favourite subject because of its dainty elegance and subtle black, white,
grey and silvery-grey colouration. I’m attaching other, earlier paintings
for comparison, arranged chronologically so the oldest is at the far right.
All were sold.
One quick observation about the newest painting. The bird on the left is
preening, scratching his ear with his foot while using wings to balance
himself. Most bird species do this, since they obviously can’t reach their
ear with the beak, which is normally used in preening, but each species does
so exclusively in one of two ways that are called “direct” and “indirect”.
The direct method involves the foot going directly to the ear under the
wing. The indirect method involves foot going over the wing, often with the
wing drooped, which assists balance. Apparently each species does one way or
the other but not both, and a few years ago as I was sketching and
photographing Black Terns at Nonquon sewage lagoons near Lake Skugog, Port
Perry – a great place to see Black Terns – I saw this behaviour – direct ear
scratching. If you are ever asked if Black Terns are direct or indirect ear
scratchers, you now know!
In this new painting I show two birds in late July as they would appear in
southern Ontario. One of the birds has started fall moult with white
feathers starting to appear on the neck, but even in full breeding plumage
the bases of the black feathers are white, so white often shows through the
black. Common when I was young, these marsh-nesting birds have become much
rarer here in North America. They are very similar to ones found in Eurasia,
but some experts think they should be regarded as two separate species. Our
birds winter from Mexico south to southern South America while Eurasian
birds normally winter on the west coast of Africa. They all eat very small
fish and invertebrates, including insects caught in flight.
An adult’s average weight is around 62 grams (about 2.2 oz). Their flight is
extremely buoyant, and at times they will snap up flying insects, although
usually they dive for small fish or insects at or near the water’s surface.
Where I live, in southern Ontario, they nest in cattail marshes, and I am
just old enough to remember the huge colony that once lived in the
Ashbridge’s Bay marshes, until it was destroyed some seven decades ago, a
process I saw unfolding even as the birds tried to nest, the birds attacking
the bulldozers that were relentlessly filling in the marsh.
The top painting is in oils, on birchwood and is 16 by 20 inches. The other
paintings are in acrylics on compressed hardboard, except for the first,
which is watercolour on poster board.
Black Terns' Nest
Nesting Black Tern
Perched Black Tern
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Copyright © Barry Kent MacKay
Barry describes himself as a Canadian artist/writer/naturalist.
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