Flora and Fauna : Our Planet Week
It’s day one of #ourplanetweek ! Today’s prompt is flora and fauna so I went with one of my favourite birds, the greater bird-of-paradise. They are also known as the “legless birds of paradise” because the first skins that were traded with the West were prepared without the feet which lead to the misconception that they never touched the ground and were held up by their plumage! Though they have been hunted for their feathers they are fairly common and so ranked as least concern by the IUCN.
The greater bird-of-paradise is the largest of its genus but only the males sport these gorgeous colours. Females are a dark maroon brown. As with all birds-of-paradise they have an elaborate mating ritual (check out Dancing with Birds on Netflix which is all about their different mating dances!). This is actually the only piece I’ve managed to finish for this week 🙈 I’ve just had so much else happening. But do make sure to check out the hashtag for some amazing pieces of art!