Ou, 'O'u

Psittirostra psittacea by Susan Fox(8 in. x 8 in. | oil | ID#4102)
Family: FRINGILLIDAE | Conservation Status: Critically Endangered | Population Trend: unknown
Artist Statement
The ‘O’u (Psittirostra psittacea) is critically endangered, possibly extinct. It is/was an endemic species of honeycreeper native to Hawaii. As with many Hawaiian bird species a major factor in the decline of the population may have been avian malaria. There are almost no extant photographs of living birds. I used a variety of images of stuffed skins and old engravings to capture what I hope is a reasonably accurate representation of the bird’s appearance. The background design is based on a native Hawaiian kapa pattern.
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