#729 "Star of the North"

"Star of the North"
Common Loon (Gavin immer)
14"H 14"W 9"D
Edition 25
3,300

                             Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#504 In the studio: Birds . . . classification

Start this series with post # 503, Feb. 5, 2014

Scientists have organized and classified birds into major groups called ORDERS.


Each order contains a number of entities called SPECIES.

Species refer to all the birds within an order that are like one another . . . robins, for instance, belong in one species, 
and are in the order passeriformes.

Since "arky", more than 1.5 million species of birds 
have existed on this planet . . . of these, approximately 
10,000 species have evolved and remain.

 BELOW, IS A LIST OF THE ORDERS OF BIRDS . . . (LIVING SPECIES)

             
                     1  Tinamiformes:  tinamous and rheas
                     2  Struthioniformes: ostriches
                     3  Casuariiformes:  cassowaries, emus, and kiwis
                     4  Galliformes:  gamebirds
                     5  Anseriformes:  waterfowl
                     6  Sphenisciformes: penguins 
                     7  Gaviiformes:  loons (divers)
                     8  Podicipediformes:  grebes
                     9  Procellariiformes:  albatrosses and petrels
                   10  Phoenicopteriformes:  flamingos
                   11  Ciconiiformes:  herons and allies
                   12  Pelecaniformes:  pelican and allies 
                   13  Falconiformes: birds of prey
                   14  Charadriiformes:  gulls, plovers and allies 
                   15  Gruiformes:  cranes and allies
                   16  Opisthocomiformes:  hoatzin
                   17  Charadriiformes: waders and shorebirds 
                   18  Pteroclidiformes:  sandgrouse
                   19  Columbiformes:  pigeons
                   20  Psittaciformes:  parrots and cockatoos
                   21  Musophagiformes:  Turacos
                   22  Cuculiformes:  cuckoos
                   23  Strigiformes: owls
                   24  Caprimulgiformes:  nightjars and allies 
                   25  Apodiformes:  hummingbirds and swifts
                   26  Caliiformes:  mousebirds
                   27  Trogoniformes:  trogons 
                   28  Coraciiformes:  kingfishers and allies
                   29  Bucerotiformes:  hornbills and hoopoes
                   30  Piciformes:  woodpeckers and allies

                   31  Passeriformes:  perching birds, song birds, ravens, and allies
        

          

Each bird on the planet falls into one of the ORDERS and is arranged in a sequence that indicates its closest relative.  Outward appearance does not always place birds in the same ORDER as ornithologists look beyond appearance and rely on factors such as anatomy, skeletal structure, DNA analysis, etc.  A complete list of all birds on the planet can be found online by going to Wikipedia: List of Birds. The different species in each ORDER can be found online and in various
field guides which will be discussed in the next post.  Scientists, however, continue to disagree as to the exact 
number of birds in existence as well as to what ORDER some should be placed. 

The highest ranked order, the passeriformes, or perching birds are the most adaptable and are 
considered the highest evolved . . .  the lowest ranked are the flightless ostriches and rheas.  

Over half of all birds on earth belong to the passeriformes order.  Some scientists believe that early in the 
evolutionary process, birds split into two diverse groups.  The first, and much smaller group comprised 
ratites, tinamous, waterfowl, and pheasants.  The second group included all the other avian orders.

Below, is a drawing of an ostrich and a image of a raven sculpture.  
Most scientists consider flightless bird the lowest ranked order 
on the evolutionary classification chart.  The passerines - which includes corvids like 
the raven - is considered the highest evolved and most adaptable.

Black Magic
23"H 17"W 17"D 

Following the Jurassic Period, dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period . . .  flowering plants flourished and, released from competition with dinosaurs, birds (and mammals)  occupied some of the niches of the bipedal dinosaur.  Under these conditions, birds thrived and diversified.  

The function of classification is to make sense of the diversity of species by grouping together related forms.  

This diversity is the result of rapid evolutionary change during the past 50 million years.

To avoid confusion across languages, Latin names are used in bird classification, as they are for all other organisms.  Closely related species are grouped in one genus, closely related genera are grouped in 

one family, closely related families are grouped in one order, and so on.          

Since the late 20th century,  fossil discoveries in China and DNA studies continue to present 

controversy among  scientists as to the distantly related ancestors of the modern bird.
Technically, birds are "avian dinosaurs" and the debate continues as to whether they evolved from a bird-like reptile.  

Below, discoveries, analysis, and debate will continue among scientists, but for now . . .
"arky" remains the universally recognized transitional fossil - or link - between dinosaurs and the modern bird.  


Below is a drawing of "arky" and a photo of the fossil found in 1861 . . . see the previous post for more information.

Blog, text, photos, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish Smith

#435 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't . . .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403,  March 10.

Sculpture is the study of a thousand silhouettes.
                                                               - Rodin   


In sculpture, the subject represented is the positive shape.  The empty space around the subject is the negative shape.

The viewer usually does not think about or consider the shape around the sculpture.  
The sculptor, however is constantly aware of both the positive and negative shapes 
as they are a device for designing and organizing the sculpture.

The sculptor should practice designing and seeing in this way, and here's how to do it:  
Select a sculpture of an animal and direct your gaze intently on the figure itself.  
Choose a sculpture with a quiet and simple pose.  
Then, concentrate on the negative shapes or the space surrounding the sculpture.  
You must wait until your vision accepts the negative shape and think of it as a totally separate form.

Now, imagine that the sculpture vanishes.  What is left?  You will find that the negative shapes have 
become distinctive shapes in their own right, and if you focus on these shapes, they become forms.

The sculpture that you are looking at has drawn you into it visually and almost physically.  
The realization of negative shapes adds a new dimension to the image before you, adding to 
your appreciation of its beauty and content. 


Below, look at the lighted sculpture and practice seeing the negative shapes around the subject. 

Height of Land

 Shade of Paradise

 Cochin China

Gamble's Sunset

For more information about negative space see previous post, #434.

All drawings and sculpture copyright Sandy Scott.

#417 In the studio: Bird anatomy, con't .

Please start this bird anatomy series with post #403, March 10.

Sculptors who use the human or quadruped figure as a subject, concentrate their studies on not only the skeleton, but the muscles as well.  Bird sculptors are an exception and although they must understand the skeleton and body shapes and masses . . .  muscles and their form are of little importance to the bird artist as birds are covered with feathers.  

The bird artist must know the feathers that cover birds are grouped in sets and they originate from the skin in organized sets, groups, tracts and from a definite region.   There is nothing random in nature . . . feathers do not emerge form the bird in a random manner.

The feather sets are basic and every bird has the same groupings . . . from the tiny hummingbird to the gigantic albatross.  

Length, shape, size and number vary according to the bird's needs, but once you know the sets, you can adapt them to any species.  

Below, wing flight feathers are divided into 3 groups:  

Primaries, secondaries, and tertials. In addition, every bird has the following: Scapulars, alula, and coverts.  

Copyright - Sandy Scott

Below and above . . . the tertials are a continuation of, moving inward from the secondaries.

The scapulars attach to the shoulder area, overlap the tertials and help streamline the wing-body intersection.  The alula group of feathers attach to the thumb and assist the bird in landing by reducing the stalling speed of the wing.  Wing coverts are arranged in rows and overlap like shingles on a roof.  The coverts, along with the wing bones, impart a definite shape and thickness to the wing's leading edge and protect the main flight feathers.

Copyright - Sandy Scott

Height of Land

12"H 23"W 15"D

Copyright - Sandy Scott

#332 In the field: Noatak River, Alaska, con't . . .

The Noatak River watershed lies in the northwestern Brooks Range and is the largest mountain-ringed river basin in America.  Start with blog post #329, Oct. 16, for more information about this wilderness canoe expedition in Alaska.

The breeding season for birds in the Arctic is brief, but the abundance of food makes the challenge worthwhile.  All five species of loons breed in the Arctic:
the Red-throated, Yellow-billed, Common, Pacific, and the closely related Arctic Loon . . . We saw them all.

Below, is a field study of an Arctic Loon from my sketchbook journal.

Above, sunset on the Noatak

Above, approaching the Noatak River headwaters

#174 In the studio: Composition and design con't . . .

In sculpture the subject represented is the positive shape.
The empty space around the subject is the negative shape.

The viewer usually does not think about or consider the space around
the sculpture.  The sculptor, however, is constantly aware of both
positive and negative shapes as they are a device for designing and
organizing the sculpture.

                  Sculpture is the study of a thousand silhouettes. 

                                                                          - Rodin

Height of Land  (Common Loon),   12"H 23"W 15"D