In one of my latest post (Golden Flicker), my dear friend Su from over at Zimmerbitch and I had a little chat about New Zealand´s national bird – the kiwi – and how she would prefer another one as such, since the kiwi is not only nocturnal but also flightless which contributes to it not being often seen by people.
If it were up to her, she would choose the Tui instead of which she has a pair in her garden.
The tui is a large honeyeater that appears at first glance completely black except for a small tuft of white feathers at its neck and a small white wing patch, causing it to resemble a parson in clerical attire.
On closer inspection however it can be seen that the tui have brown feathers on the back and flanks, a multicoloured iridescent sheen that varies with the angle from which the light strikes them, and a dusting of small, white-shafted feathers on the back and sides of the neck that produce a lacy collar. Also the wings and the tail feathers appear more blue and green than black when the light strikes them at the right angle.
The Tui in my water color also has just fed on a New Zealand flax which is why there´s quite a big stain of yellow pollen on his head.
The nectar of New Zealand flax sometimes ferments, resulting in the tui flying in a fashion that suggests that they might be drunk. 😉
Tui are considered to be very intelligent, much like parrots. They also resemble parrots in their ability to clearly imitate human speech, and were trained by Māori to replicate complex speech.
Male tui can be extremely aggressive, chasing all other birds (even bigger ones) from their territory with loud flapping and sounds akin to rude human speech.
Most of my bird water colors that I have so far shared here with you took about 2 days to get finished.
This however was a 4-day bird!
How about your national birds? Do you like them or would you prefer another one instead?
Hooray! I found your tui painting. It’s lovely and I adore the detail of the yellow pollen on its head. I love the kiwi but, like Su, I think it would be nice to have a national bird that we saw more often!
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Yay!! 😄 I love pollen covered bees so I thought why not make the tui share the look? 😉 So glad that you like it, and made the effort to find it – that means a lot to me! Thank you very much! 🙏 💕
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Lovely, Sarah! ❤ xo
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Thank you, Bette! 😄❤ xoxo
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So amazingly beautiful! You are so talented!!!
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Aww – thank you sooo much, Lisa!!! You totally made my day, my friend! 💕
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Absolutely gorgeous!!!
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Thanks so much!!! 🙂 💕
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This is beautiful, Sarah. Especially as I doubt I will ever see one! Our state bird is the Mocking Bird but I think I would prefer it to be the Roadrunner.
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Thank you so much, Kerry! And I totally love the Roadrunner idea as a state bird!! 😄 (one of my favourite cartoons 😉) xxx
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I think that Arizona has the Roadrunner as state bird. We had a small colony here before the flooding and I was always looking up for an anvil…😁
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Haha! “Beep beep!” 😉
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Sarah, I’m glad you and Su got chatting about kiwis and her favourite bird as we are rewarded with this beautiful tui! (Imagine having this in one’s garden!) A beautiful painting and I love the detail of the yellow pollen! It’s fun to learn about the birds too … and smiling at the possibility they may be a bit drunk! Wishing you a lovely day! 😀❤️
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Thanks a lot, Annika! If it weren’t for Su I might never have painted this lovely bird!! Glad you also like learning new things about our feathered friends! Have a great week! 🙂 ❤
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Wonderful detail and artwork, Sarah! It’s interesting to know that these birds are similar to parrots in that they can imitate human speech, too. I’m always fascinated by my sister’s parrot that can do this and sound exactly like the person he’s mimicking. Also, our state bird is the California Quail, which is okay, but doesn’t thrill me. I’d rather have a bird more colorful and/or intriguing, like hummingbird, owl, or even duck. 🙂 Our national bird is the bald eagle, which is pretty special. Great post, my friend…xo 🐦🦅🦆 🙂
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Thank you very much, Lauren! I´m also amazed at their ability to imitate human speech – imagine they could use it and talk to us not only imitate!!
I just had a look at your quail and think it´s very cute with that little tuff of feathers above its head. 🙂 Ours is the golden eagle which is of course very impressive but I´ve never seen one in real life so would prefer something more common like the blue tit which I just love!
Have a great week, dear friend! Hugs&love! xoxo ❤
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Not only am I getting a visual treat through your alluring paintings but I’m learning so much about our feathered friends. The Tiu is beautiful and so is your brushworrk Sarah:)
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I’m so glad you enjoy the facts part too in these posts – I feel a bit like a lecturing professor but can’t stop myself – lol! 😂
Thank you so much for your wonderful compliment dear friend! You always make my day! xoxo 💕
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Such detailed painting of the bird… beautifully done, Sarah! 🎨 😃 👍
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Thank you so much, Iris! 😊🙏💖
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As always amazed by your talent. Beautiful done, dear Sarah.
XxX
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Thank you, Patty! xxx
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Wow, incredible! I’d heard of tuis before, but I never knew much about them. I had no idea they could imitate human speech!
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Thank you! They’re pretty amazing birds, you should watch some videos on YouTube – very impressive! 😊
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Wow, you are so talented! Love these💕
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Thank you very much! 😊💕
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Beautiful bird, Sarah, and I liked learning a bit about it too. It sounds like quite a character!
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Thank you so much, Diana! They’re definitely birds with an attitude! 😄❤
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I can see why the tui took you so much longer to paint, because the detail is incredible! It’s a beautiful painting of a beautiful bird. Our national bird is the bald eagle, which is fine, since they are rare enough that we get excited when we see one, but not so rare that we never see them. Although they do resemble the osprey, which live in the southern parts of the US, so it’s easy to confuse the two.
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Thanks so much, Ann! Getting all the details right is quite time consuming but I think it was worth it. Sometimes you can create the same effect with much less brushwork though but I was eager to try this out.
Our national bird is also the eagle – funny we have the same. 😁 I’ve never seen one outside a zoo though but was reassured a couple of days ago that they still exist around here too.
Have a lovely Sunday!
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Oh my that is so beautiful!!!
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Thanks so much, Diane! 😊
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Wonderful picture of the tui. That beak–tui looks aggressive! Nocturnal and flightless–an interesting combination.
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Thank you very much, Jacqui! I agree about the beak although it’s actually formed that way to better reach into flowers like the flax. 😉
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Lovely painting, Sarah. I really like the subtle variations of color in the feathers. Birds are wonderful creatures to paint.
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Thank you so much, Shari!! 🙂 It seems I can´t get enough of painting them at the moment, though I do throw in an occasional mammal just for fun. 😉
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This bird looks so real…as if it would fly just now! Amazing art!
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Thank you so much, Balroop! What a lovely thing to say! Have an awesome and creative weekend, dear friend! ❤
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Stunning! You’ve got an amazing talent!
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Thank you very much, Heather! 🙂
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You’re welcome!
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Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
This is beautiful art!
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Aww – thank you very much for reblogging this, Charles! You absolutely made my day!! 🙂 Have a beautiful and creative weekend, my friend!
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These are beautiful!
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A beautiful drawing and water color painting of this bird. It looks real! It good to learn that Tui can be train to speak similar to Parrot. Cool!
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Thanks so much! It´s amazing what they can do – such intelligent and beautiful birds, no wonder the Maori kept them as pets.
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Amazing paint,impossible resist to those lines and those colors.😍
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Thank you so much, Ortensia! 🙂 ❤
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You are talented darling😍
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😍😍😍
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This is so incredibly beautiful Sarah. You have captured brilliantly the Tui’s sense of it’s place in the world (on top), and I love the wing detail. You have brightened a miserable stormy morning; I can’t wait to meet this Tui “in person.” Wishing you a wonderful weekend my friend xxxxxx 🙂
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Thank you so much, Su! I´m glad you like it and that it has brightened your day – it´s been a rather stormy night here too with lots of thunder clashes and lightning bolts thrown from the heavens! Have a beautiful weekend! xxxxxxx
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😀 💕💕
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Wow! This is beautiful, Sarah. 😀
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Thank you very much, Jennie!! 🙂
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You are welcome, Sarah. 🙂
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Another beautiful work of art, Sarah. You somehow manage to give character to the bird.
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Thank you very much, Rosaliene!! 🙂
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Excellent technique
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Thank you very much!
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Even though I have never heard about this bird before, your description and especially the amazing water colour makes a very good impression on me. Great piece of art!
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Thank you very much, Peter! I haven´t heard of it before either but am glad that Su pointed it out to me – it´s such an interesting and beautiful bird.
Have a lovely weekend!
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The national bird for France is the Gallic rooster, it’s ok but I would prefer the dove (they are more peaceful) or the robin (cuter) or the nightingale (their voices are prettier) … Congratulations on your lovely 4-day Tui !! you should get some rest now 😉
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Thanks so much, mon roi! I definitely need some rest now!! 😉
I think the Gallic rooster is very striking but can definitely understand that you´d prefer another one instead. Out of your list of possible candidates I think I like the nightingale the best – they are such marvelous singers and I´m so happy listening to their songs again now that spring has come!
Have a great weekend!
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Have a great weekend too !!
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Thank you! 😊
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Your 4-day bird, the tui, is very striking. The information you posted about a New Zealander’s perspective on their national bird was a delight to read.
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Thanks so much, Laura! I thought it´s interesting to know that not all “kiwis” are happy with this bird as their national one although they name themselves after it. 😉
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Very nice, Sarah. And this incorporates both art and a nature lesson. Have a great weekend. Cheers
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Thank you, Chris! I seem not to be able to keep from lecturing when I share a bird painting – lol! Have an awesome weekend too! Cheers!
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Beautiful job with this one, especially the detail. The bird’s collar is lovely. Ireland’s national bird is the northern lapwing, which is a beautiful bird, but it should probably be the American Featherless Biped, a large, noisy bird which comes by the thousands to the island in summer. They are flightless so they use airplanes to travel. 🙂
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Thanks a lot, Oglach! I didn´t know about the lapwing – thanks so much for letting me know! I think it might well be on my painting list soon 😉 (Not so much the American Featherless Biped though 😉 – had to laugh so much when I read about it coming to your island in the summer! 😀 ).
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Breathtaking. I love how you’ve given a mottled pattern on the head and thighs. And the little neck frill is my favourite part.
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Thanks so much! It was really fun to do exactly the parts you´ve mentioned! 🙂
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You did a wonderful job with this water color, Sarah. The colors are beautiful! Our state bird is the Cardinal, which I love almost as much as hummingbirds. ❤️ Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks so much, Jill!
And I haven´t forgotten about your love for cardinals – it´s on my list to paint soon. 😉
Have a beautiful weekend, my friend! ❤
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I can’t wait, Sarah! You have a great weekend, too! ❤
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