A bit of an interesting story behind this painting...
I've been working on some ornithological illustrations for an internship I'm just about to apply for, and decided to paint black kites. I had the wonderful opportunity to see these incredible birds in a flight show at the National Aviary, and took lots of great reference photos of them.
Before I even started sketching, I did what I always do before I paint a bird - I did research. I researched these black kites and came to a rather strange realization - these black kites' plumage was closer to that of a
red kite (Milvus milvus) than a black kite (Milvus migrans). Thinking perhaps they were misidentified, I researched the National Aviary website, and found they were identified, yes, as black kites. A bit more research, and I found that these were certainly black kites, due to the lack of a prominent forked tail, and lack of white patches under the wings.
So I began to paint, still not completely satisfied. After speaking with some other bird friends, we still couldn't come up with an answer, so I decided instead to finish up this painting of very red, black kites as a personal piece, and paint a different raptor for the portfolio.
So here we have the oddest black kites in the world. Are they a subspecies? A hybrid? I hope to find out someday! If you're interested in seeing some of the photographs of these kites, you can see them here:
[link][link] (shows the lack of forked tail and no white under the wings)
Watercolor with a bit of acrylic on illustration board, 9 X 9.25 inches
`ChewedKandi has certainly gone out of her way to keep the vector community on the right path. Always making sure that her talents are infinitely scalable, Sharon has put her bezier curves to excellent use, and firmly anchored herself as an inspirational leader. We're absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for June 2013 to `ChewedKandi. Congratulations, Sharon! Read More
Sta.sh
![[link]](http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://www.falconmoon.com/boids/blackkite5.jpg){kind=link}
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I checked and it is true that black and red kites do interbreed when one or the other species is sparse. So these could easily be hybrids.
How'd you do with your internship? Sounds like an awesome opportunity!
Nice job as always.
Not to add more confusion, but I read that black and red kites will interbreed if one species or another is sparse in an area. Therefore, these could very well be hybrids.
Source: Falcons and Hawks - Penny Olsen
How's the internship coming? Yea or nay? Sounds like an awesome opportunity.
The birds you took pictures of may have had a pigmentation disorder, thats might explain the different color. Not too sure about the tail though that is very strange.
Your picture really captures how awesome they are!
It makes me full of glee when you upload something, makes me want to get paints out and getting some drawing done!