Tuesday 6 March 2012

Work In Progress

Deignan's Babbler (Stachyris rodolphei) is one of the most mysterious birds in Thailand and the world. Even today, its existence is still questionable. It was first described by H. G. Deignan in 1939. Three individuals were collected from Doi Chiang Dao in Chiang Mai province, the only known distribution of this species. The 3 specimens collected show a slightly but noticeably darker plumage than the widespread Rufous-fronted Babbler (Stachyridopsis rufifrons). Deignan later published an article proposing for a new species. Recently, the species has been widely regarded as a variation or aberrant individuals of the Rufous-fronted Babbler. However, in the latest checklist of birds of Thailand, the species is still retained as a full species. It is noted that further research should be carried out to prove whether it should still be considered as a full species or not.



I decided to make this painting showing a Deignan's Babbler (the one on the left) with 2 Rufous-fronted Babblers among the beautiful Parrot Flowers (Impatiens psittacina), which is an endemic species found only at Doi Chiang Dao, same as the Deinan's Babbler. It might be difficult to tell the difference of the Deignan's from the Rufous-fronted from these pictures that I took by my camera, but I'll later scan the painting when I finish it and I think you'll see the difference much clearer. Deignan's Babbler is described as having darker and duller rufous crown, pure grey eye ring and eyebrows, greyer throat and darker overall plumage. I'll continue with the painting later tomorrow and will show you once again when it it done.

9 comments:

  1. Very interesting, I'm looking forward for the development..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks fantastic Ayuwat! With each picture I can see you growing and improving!

    Fascinating subject matter too. Have you looked at skins, or is this done from written descriptions?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Matteo and Dave!
    Unfortunately, I can't find any photo of the skins, so I just painted from the original description by Deignan. It's a little difficult to be exact though...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! this is so pleasant and I'm thrilled to see your work in progress :-D แล้วมันมีชื่อเรียกเป็นภาษาไทยง่าย ๆ ไหมคะน้องต้น จำได้ว่าเคยเห็นภายถ่ายในบล็อกเก่าสักอันนกโทนสีนี้ แต่ไม่แน่ใจว่าเป็นตัวเดียวกันหรือเปล่า

    รู้ละว่าอยากให้วาดอะไรให้ เป็นเจ้าจ้อยหัวฟ้า
    ชื่อภาษาฝรั่งเศสคือ mésange bleue มันจะมาหาทุกครั้งที่ไปอยู่แอลป์ มันน่ารักและหน้าตาดื้อมาก

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looking forward to seeing the final result...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've said it many times, firget whatever it is you're studying and do this professionally. Seriously your work is better than than at least half the plates in the Mark Brazil fieldguide.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is avery interesting story and thanks for sharing it - look forward to hearing the resolution but that could take years? The bird sketches are well up to your usual standard plus you have the ability to draw and paint flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  8. พี่พรุน > ลองไปเสิร์ชหาดูว่านกที่พี่พรุนพูดถึงคือตัวอะไร ปรากฏว่าชื่อภาษาอังกฤษเค้าคือ Blue Tit ตัวนี้อยากเห็นมากกกครับ แต่มีเฉพาะในยุโรปคงอีกนานกว่าจะมีโอกาสได้เห็น

    John > Thank you so much! I guess I'll be able to post the result tomorrow.

    Stu > Lol I actually thought about that too, but it seems so risky. I might spend time doing other jobs first then come back to this. In the meantime, I'll try to produce as many works as possible to build up my portfolio. Right now, apart from the sketches I made in my small notebooks, I don't have many paintings yet.

    Phil > Thank you! I'm still waiting for the conclusion of this mystery as well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really nice to see the creative process in this watercolor. The result is just terrific, I like it a lot :-)

    ReplyDelete