Everyone knows I love wild birds so I often receive gifts with birds drawn or sculpted on them. Inevitably I try to identify the bird the artist used as a model.
Most products are made overseas nowadays, so the models could be real Chinese birds or inaccurately drawn from photographs of North American or European species. I rarely assume they are totally fictional.
However, if I’d never seen a male painted bunting I’d think the artists invented this bird.
Definitely painted!
Chuck Tague photographed this one at a feeder at Merritt Island, Florida.
(photo by Chuck Tague)
Dan and I made a very quick trip a few years ago, to see the Painted Bunting, along with 6 other lifer birds in South Carolina. It is beautiful and wish we could have seen it closer, but I was able to get a decent photo of the male…did not see the female or juvenile, but the male is what we wanted to see. Are they in Florida all the time? Beautiful photo!!!
Wow what a gorgeous bird! And I thought the House Finches we get in our area (Orchard Park, NY) were pretty – this guy wins the beauty contest!
A painted bunting shows up on today’s “I can has Cheezburger” page!
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/02/05/funny-pictures-most-common-mistake/
Of course, it’s a male, and I don’t know too many guys selling Avon! LOL