Another Hummingbird

[musket]

Rufous Female
Tupelo
Acrylics
Chrysoprase
Sunstone
Opal
Japanese mulberry paper
Shredded silk
Grapevines
Ebony
Jadeite
Around 13 1/2" tall

This was the first of these pieces, so the bird is a little crude. The male rufous is approximately the color of the sunstone egg. The opal egg, to represent a female, is much greener than shows here; opals are notoriously difficult to photograph. Both eggs are oversize compared to the real thing. All the stones were cut by me. The chrysoprase was shaped that way naturally; I just did a little work on the greenest part and polished it.

 

[snoball]

Oh this little guy is really special. I love hummers anyway.

 

[musket]

Thanx sno. My sweetie and I made up informal names for everybody. This one bears the bland title "Rufous Hummingbird at Nest," but her real name is Skippy. We don't know why. She just looks like a Skippy, even though rufouses are among the most belligerent of all hummingbirds.

 

[snoball]

I dunno, the little male Ruby Throats can pick a pretty good fight.

 

[musket]

The females too. We always see plenty of aerial antics. But rufouses really are just about the meanest. They hate each other and everybody else with a passion, and they're bigger than ruby-throats.

 

[snoball]

We've never had the Rufouses here. We only get the little Ruby Throats.

 

[musket]

Same here, but I've seen them in action out west. They're the long distance migration hummingbird champions, as far as 2,000 miles each way from Alaska to Mexico, through the Rockies. Strays are being sighted more and more often east of the Mississippi but I doubt we'll ever see one here. They really are aggressive as hell.

 

[Artyczar]

This one is special. I LOVE this one. It has a whimsey to it. ❤

 

[musket]

Yep. She looks like a Skippy!

 

[joe1It]

it's amazing, really wonderful.
the whole composition is incredible