Monday, March 22, 2010

Drawing of the exotic Mandarin in display

The drake Mandarin (Aix galericulata) really deserves to be illustrated in colour but even in monochrome its exuberant plumage is apparent. While this duck is native to the Far East, it has a self-sustaining breeding population in the British Isles (category C1E in the BOU's British List). It is closely related to the Wood Duck or Carolina Duck (Aix sponsa) from North America but I think the resplendent plumage of the Mandarin beats it with the crazy 'wing sails'.



This drawing took me a lot longer than usual as the whisker-like feathers of the cheeks were tricky to get right. Click it for a larger version.

5 comments:

Jochen said...

Wow, very nice!
Funny, when I looked at the pic before reading the text (as I am wont to do), I thought to myself that those whisker-like feathers of the cheeks wer eincredibly detailed and that it must have taken you ages to draw!

Fraser Simpson said...

Thanks Jochen.

Nicole MacP said...

Beautiful! The different textures are so well done! Those whisker-feathers would have driven me nuts...

andalucianguides said...

Hi Fraser, Thanks for the kind comments on my blog and hey, you have some great stuff up on your pages esp your superb detailed bird drawings!
Re track access down here - The first part of the track from Facinas side may still be ok for a family car but it was hard work even with the Land Rover on further sections down the Ojen track. I don't think you'd make it but if I have time today I'll check it out with my day clients - The main track at La Janda, parallel with the collector canal is still u/s for non-4x 4's. Go in off the N340 at the Vejer entrance and cross first left over the canal using bridge and head to Benalup. It's OK that side. I'm over on the Coto D for three nights at the end of this week and hear that the JAV centre is still cut-off as the track was washed away by the flooding and winds just like La Janda. We had 18 metalled roads cut in Cadiz prov. and I suppose they'll take priority to repair. Give me a call when you are down! Regards, Stephen

Fraser Simpson said...

Thanks Nicole and Stephen!