Climbing
by AnnaJo Vahle
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Dimensions
16.000 x 20.000 x 0.250 inches
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Title
Climbing
Artist
AnnaJo Vahle
Medium
Painting - Acrylic On Canvas
Description
Been going through a challenging time, trying to keep going. It is a bit of a climb just as this woodpecker is doing.
This is a 16 inch by 20 inch acrylic painting I did on gessobord. I based this on a photograph that I took of it in a tree on Merritt Island, Florida. I made liberal use of my artistic license to change the composition, background, and various details.
Here are some of the interesting facts I found about the Red-bellied Woodpeckers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are pale, medium-sized woodpeckers common in forests of the East. Their strikingly barred backs and gleaming red caps make them an unforgettable sight � just resist the temptation to call them Red-headed Woodpeckers, a somewhat rarer species that's mostly black on the back with big white wing patches. Learn the Red-bellied's rolling call and you�ll notice these birds everywhere.
You may sometimes see Red-bellied Woodpeckers wedge large nuts into bark crevices, then whack them into manageable pieces using their beaks. They also use cracks in trees and fence posts to store food for later in the year, a habit it shares with other woodpeckers in its genus.
For birds that nest in cavities, nest holes are precious turf. Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been known to take over the nests of other birds, including the much smaller (and endangered) Red-cockaded Woodpecker. But more often they�re victims to the aggressive European Starling. As many as half of all Red-bellied Woodpecker nests in some areas get invaded by starlings.
You may occasionally see a Red-bellied Woodpecker flying quickly and erratically through the forest, abruptly changing direction, alighting for an instant and immediately taking off again, keeping up a quick chatter of calls. Scientists categorize this odd behavior as a type of play that probably helps young birds practice the evasive action they may one day need.
A Red-bellied Woodpecker can stick out its tongue nearly 2 inches past the end of its beak. The tip is barbed and the bird�s spit is sticky, making it easier to snatch prey from deep crevices. Males have longer, wider-tipped tongues than females, possibly allowing a breeding pair to forage in slightly different places on their territory and maximize their use of available food.
These birds often stick to main branches and trunks of trees, where they hitch in classic woodpecker fashion, leaning away from the trunk and onto their stiff tail feathers as they search for food hiding in bark crevices. When nesting, males choose the site and begin to excavate, then try to attract a female by calling and tapping softly on the wood around or in the cavity. When a female accepts, she taps along with the male, then helps put the finishing touches on the nest cavity.
11/26/22..2nd place tie win in the "WOODPECKER PAINTINGS" Contest
Uploaded
September 24th, 2016
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Viewed 1,064 Times - Last Visitor from Cupertino, CA on 03/29/2024 at 5:48 AM
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Comments (40)
Bridget Voth
Congratulations on your win in the Woodpecker Paintings contest! Gorgeous colors and details!
Hiroko Stumpf
Congratulations AnnaJo, on your 2nd place tie win in the "WOODPECKER PAINTINGS" Contest for this beautiful painting! L/F
Sarah Irland
Congratulations, AnnaJo, on your Win in the Woodpecker Paintings Contest for this beautiful painting! Wonderful color and detail! L/F
Laurel Adams
AnnaJo, CONGRATULATIONS on your WIN in the Woodpeckers Contest!…YAY, ..SO WELL DESERVED
Lyric Lucas
Congratulations, your creative and unique art work is FEATURED in the "Out Of The Ordinary 1 A Day" group! 10/3/16